Basking in the Light of our Love
by SweetT129
Summary: Sequel to A Light in the Darkness. This story follows Carlisle and Bella in their life as newlyweds, beginning the morning after their wedding. Many surprises to come for the new husband and wife. What will they be?
1. 1 La Bella Luce

**A/N: This is fanfiction, guys, not the real thing. I am obviously not Stephenie Meyer.**

**Welcome to the sequel of A Light in the Darkness. Bella and Carlisle have led each other out of the darkest time in their lives, and now are enjoying their lives as newlyweds. But as Bella has learned in the past, love isn't always simple. What will it bring for these two?**

**It's honeymoon time, folks, major lemons coming! (Thus another clue that I am not S. Meyer, lol.)**

Chapter 1: La Bella Luce

BPOV

We made love twice more during the night, with me taking short naps in between each time. There was nothing comparable to the feeling of being joined to Carlisle in such an intimate way - I couldn't describe the way it felt physically or emotionally. It was overwhelming, to say the least, and made every pleasurable experience I had ever had before pale in comparison. He was so tender and loving as we coupled, and though I knew that he was restraining himself to some extent, he certainly seemed to be deriving as much pleasure as I was from the experience.

In the morning, when he woke me to dress for our flight, I was still rather tired and normally would have argued or complained. But the way he woke me up...

_I was sound asleep, dreaming of my wedding once again, when the dream suddenly changed. Now I was lying on a cloud, fully nude, with my gorgeous blond god beside me. Though he was the one who appeared to be a divinity, he was worshipping my body. With his tongue. He licked along every surface of my skin, from my neck down to my belly button, and then fell to my feet and once again began licking until he reached my center. _

_When the blond god's tongue entered my folds, the sensation was so intense that it caused me to awaken. I gasped, sitting bolt upright, and found that I was in a bed in the Olympic Fairmont Hotel with my husband, Carlisle Cullen. And said husband currently had his head between my legs, and was looking up at me with a grin on his face._

_"Good morning, beautiful wife," he said, before once again burying his face into my sex, his tongue thrusting into my core. _

_I threw my head backwards in pleasure, my eyes rolling back in my head. I moaned over and over as he alternated between licking and sucking on my little bundle of nerves and thrusting his tongue into my heat. _

_"Oh god, Carlisle!.....so good....don't stop!....uuuuugggghhhhh....."_

_My eyelids were squeezed together tightly, my hands fisted into the sheets of the bed, as I tried to keep from thrashing. I felt two of his cold fingers glide into my core and begin to pump in and out, his tongue concentrating on my clit. He sucked on it and flicked it with his tongue in a pattern that was making the coil in my stomach tighten past its limit quickly. _

_"Aaarrrrggghhhhh!...Carlisle, please!.....oh god!......mmmmmmm.......honey......yeah...don't stop!"_

_I had absolutely no self-control left, and I felt my back arching high off the bed. This movement changed the angle of his thrusting fingers, bringing them into contact with my g-spot. That was the final push that I needed, and it threw me hard over the edge into oblivion. I screamed his name as I came, and I heard him chuckle as he lapped up all the moisture that remained before coming to join me on the pillows._

I decided in that moment that I was throwing the alarm clock away when we got home. I could never wake up to a beep after_ THAT._

We boarded a flight for Miami at one o'clock. I could not understand why on earth we would be going to Miami for our honeymoon, seeing as how it is a rather sunny location. _Not that I would mind staying in the hotel room the entire trip, but still..._ Carlisle, however, refused to give away the secret.

I spent the majority of the flight with my head in Carlisle's lap, sound asleep, while he stroked my hair. When we finally landed in Miami, I expected that it was really a layover and we were going to board another flight. Imagine my surprise when my husband led me right out of the airport and hailed a cab.

We drove for about twenty minutes until the taxi pulled into a marina. This was a surprise, for sure. I wracked my brain for places we could get to on a boat from Miami, but nothing I could think of made any more sense than Miami itself did. I remembered the boat that we took from Brazil to Isle Esme, and while it was a very nice boat, it certainly couldn't make such more than a few hours journey. _Where on earth is this man taking me?_

Carlisle handed the driver some cash, and then led me by the hand through the gates and into the marina. We walked past several rows of docked boats before finally turning and walking down one. He led me to the fourth slip and stopped.

"Happy Wedding Day, my love. I'm sorry you had to wait so long for your gift."

My eyes were wide with shock. "_This_ is my gift?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes, sweetheart. She's all yours. I would have liked to get you something more grand, but I knew you wouldn't want me to go over the top," he said, kissing me softly.

_Not over the top?_ The "reasonable" gift that he had chosen was a large yacht, which, according to the words painted on the side near the stern, was named "La Bella Luce."

"It means "The Beautiful Light". I named it after you, because you are the light of my existence," he explained, as I continued to stand there, frozen, my eyes wide and my mouth gaping open. "Would you like to come aboard and look around?"

I nodded, and allowed him to lift me and carry me bridal style onto the yacht. We stepped onto the main deck, which was hardwood, and then he set me down. I looked around, trying to take it all in. The back of the boat, where we were standing, was an open area with a small leather couch. Just in front of the couch to the side was a staircase leading to the open upper deck. There was also a sliding glass door which led to the indoor portion of the boat. Stepping through that door, I found myself in the main living area - there was a white leather couch on either side, one of them curving around a dining table. Further forward was a small step-down kitchen. A few more steps brought us to the captain's area, from where the boat could be piloted while inside. Carlisle informed me that there was also a captain's area on the open deck above us. Next to the captain's chair were three steps leading down to the cabins - a master, complete with a bathroom (or head), and two guest rooms, plus one more bathroom in between. Our cabin had been prepared with navy and cream bedding. The entire interior of the yacht was paneled with hardwood and cream leather.

Once I had seen all of the inside, Carlisle led me back outside and up the stairs. The upper deck had a small table with seating as well as a padded area to lay on, and the captain's area. Looking down from the deck, I could see the front portion of the boat also had padding, so it could be used for lounging as well.

I looked at my husband. "This is unreal, Carlisle! It's huge!"

"Forty-six feet, my love," he said with pride. "Like I said, I wanted a bigger one, but I feared you wouldn't like that."

"I don't see how any larger would have been necessary. This is plenty. It's absolutely amazing! Thank you honey."

We kissed for a moment before I pulled away.

"You may not be aware of this, honey, but humans have a tradition that they follow when they get a new boat - they break a bottle of champagne against the side to christen it."

"We have some in the refrigerator, I'll go get it in a moment. But there is another tradition, a vampire one, of course, that _you_ may not be aware of."

I could hear his voice taking on a huskier tone, but decided to play along.

"Oh really? What tradition is that?"

"When a vampire gets a new boat, it's _essential_ that he make love to his mate aboard said vessel before piloting it."

"Well, we wouldn't want to ignore tradition..." I said, a laugh in my voice.

I squealed as he picked me up and ran back down to our cabin at vampire speed. He jumped when he reached our door, and we flew through the air, landing in our bed on our sides next to each other, both of us laughing.

"So are there many vampire traditions involving ravishing one's mate?" I asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Every one, my dear, every one..." He whispered throatily into my ear before licking his way around the rim.

"I knew there was a reason I loved vampires..." I teased breathily.

He chuckled softly before bringing his lips to mine, immediately seeking entrance to my mouth with his tongue. I opened for him, bringing my tongue to meet his in a passionate dance before letting him explore my mouth thoroughly. He pulled us both up into a sitting position while we kissed, quickly divesting us both of our clothes. In the moment we were separated for him to remove my shirt, I took his naked form in with my eyes. _He should never wear clothes again... maybe that can be arranged?_

The sight of his manhood standing erect for me drew a groan from my throat, and I dove toward it, taking him by surprise so much that I knocked him down onto his back on the bed. I followed him down, not wasting any time taking his entire length into my mouth. He hissed, followed by a long groan, as my nose met his golden curls.

"Oh hell, Bella!....uuuuuggghhhhhh!"

I hummed around him, making him moan again, as the head of his delicious cock brushed the back of my throat. I bobbed my head slowly up and down his length a few times before pulling my mouth off of him completely. I took a breath, then descended back down to him, teasing the tip with my tongue and tasting the pre-cum that was already collecting at the slit. _Mmmm....so tasty._ I slid my tongue all the way down the underside of his shaft and back up, teasing the tip again, then repeated the motion, this time lightly scraping my teeth along him on the way back up.

"Oh, Bella....Bella.....aaaaahhhhhh....baby, so good...."

I opened my mouth again, taking all of him in, trying to make a strong suction as I sucked him.

"Uuuuuuggggghhhh Bella!...Baby....shit....come up....want to be in you...aaaaahhhhh....god!!"

I laughed at his complete incoherency, loving that I was the one who caused it, and considered his request as I continued my work. While I really wanted him in me as well, I also really wanted to finish this. He'd promised that I could after the wedding, and after tasting that tiny bit of pre-cum, I was desperate for more. He could take me when I was done.

I brought my tongue back into the action, swirling it around his length as much as I could while maintaining my suction. I moaned around his cock as I worked, so utterly turned on by my own actions and by the taste of him in my mouth.

"Baby....please....I want you....uuugggghhhhh!...I'm....can't....hold it....much longer..."

I moaned, trying to signal that that was exactly what I wanted. I looked up through my lashes, not disrupting my work at all, and saw that his head was thrown back in the pillows, his hands pulling at his beautiful golden waves. All his muscles were tight. He was barely hanging on. I loved it.

Wanting to push him over the edge, I pulled back, swirled by tongue around the tip twice before sucking him back in, reaching up and tugging gently on his balls at the same time. That was the final straw for him, and he roared my name as he shot his venom into my waiting mouth. _Oh god, it's delicious! Mmmmmm!_ I swallowed greedily around him, taking every drop that he offered, moaning as I did. I kept my eyes on him the whole time - he looked so hot when he was cumming - enthralled by the sight of him so undone. His back arched high off the bed, his head bearing most of his body weight, his hands fisted so tightly in the sheets that I think he actually ripped them.

When he came down, panting hard, his eyes still closed, he lay there for a moment quietly. Suddenly, he sat bolt upright, grabbing me around my arms.

"Baby, are you okay?"

I could see the concern in his eyes - he was terrified that his venom had hurt me. I grinned at him.

"I am so much better than okay, Carlisle. That was even better than I expected it to be," I said huskily, still rather pleased with myself.

He shook his head with disbelief, the smile returning to his face. "What am I going to do with you Bella?"

"I have a suggestion," I replied, wagging my eyebrows at him.

"Mmmmmm....I like the way you think," he said, pushing me backwards and coming to hover over me.

He reached down with one hand, dragging his fingers over my slit. "So wet already, baby? Is that for me?" _He is so fucking sexy when he talks dirty! Gah!_

"Uuuuuggghhhhh, yeah honey. All for you. Always."

That said, he plunged his already erect cock into me. I gasped at the shock, followed quickly with a moan of pleasure. _Oh god, it feels so good to have him inside me!_

"You like that baby?" He asked, his voice low.

"Yeah, honey.... I love it....aaahhhhhh...."

He leaned down, bringing his mouth to mine in a fiery kiss as he thrust into me over and over. The feeling of his icy cold length inside my overheated body was incredible. His hands kept busy caressing my arms and shoulders, occasionally coming up to massage my breasts.

"Mmmmmmm...Carlisle...so good......you feel....so good...inside me.....uuugggghhhhh..."

He pulled away from the kiss and brought his mouth to my ear, liking around the rim once. "I will never get enough of you, Mrs. Cullen....even if I stayed...uuuugghhh....inside you forever...."

He reached under my hips, cupping my ass with his hands, and lifted it up. This changed the angle that he was hitting, and I screamed with pleasure as he began rubbing against my g-spot with each thrust.

"Oh god Carlisle!....Aaaaahhhhh!"

I clawed at his hands with my fingers, as that was all I could reach of him now. My moans were a constant stream of incoherency as I got closer and closer to my climax. Carlisle was answering every one with groans of his own.

"Mmmm....baby.....yeah....so good.....uuuuggggghhhh.....mmmmmm...."

He slid one hand more to the center of my ass to better support me, while the other came around and began furiously rubbing my clit.

"Cum for me baby....want to feel you...cum...all over me....oh god Bella....."

_As if I had a choice in the matter!_

"Oh god, Carlisle!...I'm....gonna....uuuggghhh...I'm....."

I couldn't make the words come as I fell apart. I came hard, and I swear I could see stars before my eyes as the world exploded around me. I screamed his name, completely unable to control my own volume. He came seconds after I did, yelling out my name, his seed flooding inside me. He collapsed down onto the bed next to me, completely spent, when he finished.

I woke up several hours later, naked under the blankets, and alone. I looked to the pillow next to me and found a folded piece of paper standing on it.

_Mrs. Cullen,_

_I hope you had a nice rest. I'm upstairs piloting La Bella Luce - I think you'd agree that tradition was sufficiently maintained, and therefore it was safe to leave the dock. I figured you'd like to get to Isle Esme eventually, rather than spending our entire honeymoon in the marina. _

_Come up whenever you like, my love, I will miss you until then._

_All my love, _

_Carlisle xoxo_

I cleaned myself up a bit, and, looking out the window, saw that it was still dark outside. I looked in the closet and saw that Alice had gone for a bit of a nautical theme with my wardrobe...what little there was of it, anyways. _How appropriate. _I found a pair of white capri pants, a navy tank top, and a white cardigan, and put them on. Looking into the mirror, I saw that I had major sex hair, and knew nothing could tame it at this point, so I just threw it into a low ponytail. Satisfied for now, I made my way up to the captain's area to spend a little time with the most incredible man on earth. This was going to be quite the honeymoon...

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that half a much as Bella did. What did you think of the gift? Carlisle has always been a generous guy...**


	2. 2 Sailing in a Sea of Love

**A/N: I don't own twilight.**

**Thanks so much for all the reviews of chapter one. It's going to be quite the lemony honeymoon, I can assure you. I hope you'll continue to enjoy!**

**Just to let you know, jet lag (of my kids, not my own) has kicked my ass, and so it will take me a bit longer to get back to my usual vampire speed updates. But I promise I'll get you a chapter every other day until then.**

Chapter 2: Sailing in a Sea of Love

CPOV

In my initial plans for our honeymoon, I estimated that it would take Bella and I one week to sail to Isle Esme. I had, however, failed to account for the utter lack of actual sailing being done due to Bella and I spending the vast majority of our time otherwise occupied. Not that I was complaining, mind you. At this point, I could not see any reason to leave the yacht. Ever. Perhaps I was lost in some sort of honeymoon haze, but I couldn't deny the extreme pleasantness of being completely alone with my Bella. My wife.

We'd been at sea for nine days already, and our position was currently somewhere off the very beginning of the Brazilian coast. If we were to continue to the island with my originally intended pace, we would need two days to reach the island. However, I expected it to be somewhere closer to four days, seeing as how I had no intention of denying my wife anything she wanted, and lately, that only seemed to be me.

At the moment, she was down in our cabin sleeping while I piloted her yacht, enjoying a thermos of blood while I replayed memories of our married life thus far in my head. Eleazar had been kind enough to prepare La Bella Luce for me before traveling to Forks for the wedding, filling the galley with food and the necessary preparation items for Bella, as well as stocking the refrigerator with dozens of thermoses of blood for me.

I smiled as I remembered the moment when Bella first opened the refrigerator.

_It was the morning after we had sailed away from Miami, and our first morning on the yacht. My poor wife was starving, as we had found ourselves a bit preoccupied throughout most of the night, so she went into the galley while I drove. I was only about ten feet from her, and her gasp surprised me so much that I jumped out of my seat. _

_"Bella, my love, what is it?" I asked as I ran into the kitchen. My fear immediately turned into amusement when I saw a cup of fresh blood sitting in front of her, but returned slightly when I saw the tinge of green in her skin._

_"I thought it was juice..." she said innocently. _

_I couldn't restrain my laughter, despite an honest effort to do so._

_"Sweetheart, I'm sorry. I should have warned you. Eleazar stocked the refrigerator for both of us, not just you," I explained as I took the cup and thermos and moved it to the opposite counter, further from her, remembering that she did not have a high tolerance for blood (rather ironic for one who wanted to become a vampire...)._

_"But Carlisle, there are a LOT of thermoses in there!" _

_I laughed again, knowing my explanation would make her blush. _

_"Bella, I can generally last for about a week between feedings without having any difficulty. However, when a vampire is sexually active, it depletes the energy stores more quickly than usual."_

_"How often do you have to feed then?" She asked incredulously._

_"Well, once every three days if one was making love each night, more often if more, uh, exertion has been made..."_

_Her blush was a deep crimson on her face, and I grinned._

_"Just how much 'exertion' were you planning, Dr Cullen?" she asked, her tone dropping an octave._

_"I told Eleazar we would be traveling for approximately one week, and let him judge how much I would need."_

_Still blushing profusely, she giggled. "He certainly has a high opinion of your stamina..." she teased. _

_My voice took on a husky tone as I stalked back to her, closing her into a corner of the counter with my body, and running my tongue up her neck until my mouth was just below her ear. _

_"It's not merely an opinion, my love...we're vampires after all. We don't get tired. So I can, and will, bring my wife pleasure as often as she can stand it... Starting. Right. Now," I said, my voice heavily laced with lust. _

_She moaned with want at my words, and I lifted her up onto the counter, hiking up the hem of the sundress she was wearing to find that she was bare underneath. A low growl emerged from my chest at the sight, and I took her right there on the counter before the poor woman finally got some breakfast._

I felt the beginnings of an erection at the memory, but quickly fought it down. Bella had only been asleep a short time, and I needed to leave her that way - she was exhausted!

Finally being able to make love to Bella was nothing less than a dream come true. Even though I had to maintain control of my strength to be with her, I almost dreaded that I would only have a year of her like this before I had to change her. At the same time, though, I knew that her change would bring entirely new benefits to our lives. And for now, I had plenty of time to enjoy my new wife.

And enjoy her I did. Over and over again. At night, we'd make slow, sweet love before Bella fell asleep. But during the day, when I was supposed to be driving the boat, we found that lust often overcame us. Our third day at sea was a very good example.

_I was sitting in the captain's chair on the bridge, piloting our yacht off the coast of the Dominican Republic when Bella walked out onto the front deck. There was a padded lounge area there, and it seemed as though she was planning to do some sunbathing. She had a white sundress on, and I could see the bikini straps that showed underneath the dress. She laid a cotton blanket on the cushions and set up her drink and some fruit nearby. I couldn't take my eyes off of her as she slowly pulled the dress over her head, revealing a tiny peach bikini. There wasn't much to it, but thanks to my vampire vision, I memorized every detail: tiny, ruffled peach triangles covered the bare minimum of her breasts, exposing to me the swells underneath. On her bottom was a similar scrap of material, tied together on the sides, leaving the curve of her ass and the crease where it met her legs for my eyes to devour. I briefly wondered if she was aware that I was watching, but realized that it didn't matter. I was no peeping tom - she was my wife now, and I was well within my rights to look. And look I did, as she laid herself down on the blanket, her sweet ass up in the air calling to me like a siren._

_I gazed at her for several minutes before I realized that my cock was straining against the fabric of my swim trunks, aching for her. I reached down with one hand, rubbing my length through my shorts, trying to release a bit of the tension. It didn't help. The only thing that would help was Bella. I left my station and silently made my way down the stairs and onto the front lounge, creeping up behind her without her notice. I removed my trunks, laying them off to the side._

_I stroked my erection a few more times before going to where she lay. I got down on my hands and knees over her, bringing my lips down over her ear, my arousal pressed against her backside._

_"You look so damn sexy in this tiny bikini, Mrs. Cullen," I said, running my tongue over the rim of her earlobe. "But I bet you'd be even sexier out of it," I added as I untied the sides of her bottoms._

_She moaned lowly as I pulled her bottoms open, dragging my finger over her already-wet slit. _

_"God, baby... You're already this wet for me?" I asked huskily._

_"Always, Carlisle...." she breathed back._

_"Mmmmm....that's good. That's very good. Because you see, I was trying to captain this yacht when you came out here in that bikini and made me so hard. I just wanted you so much that I couldn't concentrate anymore," I whispered._

_She moaned again at my words, and the scent of her arousal, so sweet and musky, became even thicker in the air. I was surprised to see that she was so aroused by the way I spoke to her. It was not my usual way to speak to a lady like that, but Bella had somehow broken through my gentlemanly exterior, my proper upbringing, and turned me into a lusty young man with no verbal control._

_I brushed my cock along her folds, teasing her. "See how hard you made me baby?"_

_"Oh god, Carlisle...mmmmm...." _

_"Yeah? You want this Bella? You want my cock?"_

_"God yes!"_

_"Then it's yours!" Done teasing, I plunged into her wet, hot sex. "Uuuuugggghhhh....hell Bella...feels so good...so tight!" _

_It was the first time I had taken her in this way, and I was overcome by the sensation. She was so tight this way - even more so than usual. It was like having my cock in a vice grip, but in a very, very good way. From the sounds coming out of her, she seemed to agree._

_"Oh Carlisle.....aaaaahhhhh....yeah honey.....uuuugggghhhh....."_

_"You like that baby? You want more?"_

_"Yes, Carlisle! I love it!"_

_I continued thrusting deep within her, reaching my hands around to fondle her breasts. I felt like my head was going to explode with the intensity of the experience, but I didn't stop._

_"God, Carlisle....fuck me harder...mmmmmmm...."_

_My arousal swelled inside of her. I almost stopped my movements I was so shocked. It was only the second time I'd ever heard her use such language, and it caught me off guard. But I wasn't sure if it was the fact that she said it, or that fact that it turned me on so much that surprised me more. _

_My need for her and my need to please her worked together, and I pushed even harder into her than before, grunting and moaning loudly. She answered each sound I made with her own. I reached down and lifted her hips a bit, pulling them up off the deck, changing the angle at which I was entering her so that I was now coming into contact with her g-spot with each thrust of my cock._

_"Oh Bella...uuuggghhhh....baby...feels so good..."_

_I let go of one breast and brought that hand down to her center, teasing her clit with my fingers while I continued to slam myself into her. The scent of her arousal had become so strong that I could smell nothing else, fueling my desire even further. I could feel my balls slapping against her just under my fingers, and it was all I could do to hold on. I used my other hand and tugged on her nipple as I fought the urge to bite down on her shoulder - not out of any desire for blood, just her body. _

_"Carlisle...honey...god...gonna...cum...can't..."_

_"Please baby....cum with me...uuugggghhhh...now!"_

_I roared with the intensity of my orgasm as I filled her, a very inhuman sound, and she screamed my name into the empty air around us. I fell down onto the deck, half on top, half beside her, my arms still holding her. We were both panting, and I could hear her heart racing. _

_"I need to get back to work baby, or we'll never get to Isle Esme. Maybe you should quit wearing such tiny bathing suits on deck," I whispered into her ear once I had calmed._

_The next morning she came up to the deck to sunbathe in the nude..._

By our fifth day at sea, I began to wonder if I hadn't spent too much time with Emmett in the last few years. When I was married to Esme, we made love often - the physical side of our relationship was never lacking, by any means. But with Bella, I felt like an animal. When she asked me to "fuck" her, I worried for a bit that I might be debasing her somehow, treating her like some sort of sex object. On the other hand, she had really seemed to enjoy that particular time, especially the dirty talking, and came even harder than usual. I couldn't deny loving it myself. Bella was everything to me, and I loved her with or without sex. It just so happened that the sex was incredible and I couldn't seem to get enough. I decided then and there that I would make sure she hadn't forgotten that I loved _her_ the next day, and that I valued her mind and heart as much as her body.

My lovely wife, however, seemed to have other plans. I shook my head, chuckling as I remembered how she came up to the upper deck the following morning, wearing a little tank top and some ruffled panties, and proceeded to get down on her knees in front of my chair and gave me an incredible blow job before heading back below to take a shower, leaving me speechless.

That evening, though, I was determined to follow through with my plan. I smiled as I remembered that night.

_Bella was laying on the lounge in the upper deck reading while I steered the yacht. I asked her to take over for a bit while I went downstairs. In the guest cabin, I gathered two blankets, and from the galley I got a glass and a bottle of champagne from our wedding, as well as a bowl of strawberries. I returned to the deck and lay one blanket down before calling her over to me._

_I sat down, and gestured for her to sit in front of me, between my legs. I wrapped her in my arms and she snuggled back into my chest. We sat like that while I fed her strawberries and she sipped champagne, watching the sun set over the Atlantic. _

_While the sky was still tinged a deep shade of copper, I turned her face and gently captured her lips with my own. I kissed her softly for awhile, not wanting to take it further. _

_Eventually, I leaned back until we were laying on the blanket, still holding her in my arms. I pulled the other blanket up to wrap around her. We lay there together looking up at the sky, which was now filled with stars - more stars than we had ever seen in our generally overcast hometowns. I pointed out to her several of the constellations in between kisses. _

_Bella gasped suddenly, and told me to look up. There, above us, was a shooting star. _

_"We have to make a wish," she said._

_"I don't know what to wish for - I already have you," I replied sincerely._

_She smiled and gave me a soft kiss. "Ok, well then we'll wish that we have everything we ever dreamed of in our marriage," she said._

_"That sounds perfect," I whispered, bringing her lips back to mine. "I love you, Mrs. Cullen. You are everything to me, and I don't know how I ever survived without you."_

_We made love then, under the stars._

We had been at sea a week when experienced our first storm. It wasn't terribly bad, just one of those storms that tends to cross over the equator daily to help eliminate the humidity. But Bella was new to the sea-faring life, and didn't know what to expect.

_We were forced to stay inside as they rain poured out of the clouds above us, and Bella had gotten a bit frightened as the waves around us became stronger. We were far enough out into the ocean that we generally didn't experience anything but smooth sea, so it was quite a change for her. I held her close to me as we sat on the sofa in the main area, promising that no harm would come to her. _

_"My love, I told you long ago that I would never let anyone hurt you - that includes the Atlantic. I'm here, sweetheart, I will protect you. You're safe with me," I whispered over and over, trying to reassure her. _

_I knew that there was no need to worry, as these types of storms were quite common near the equator, and would most likely pass over us quickly. If there was need to worry, Alice would have let us know by calling the satellite phone. _

_I decided the best way to calm her was to distract her, so I carried her into our cabin and undressed her slowly. We made love gently in our bed, my thrusts timed with the waves so that I moved in and out of her with the rocking of the yacht. The storm ended before we did._

Tonight, as I piloted the yacht through calm waters just south of the equator, I listened to my wife's deep breathing and the beating of her heart... a sound that I would enjoy for another year before it ended forever.

As I sat, remembering these times we had spent together so far, contemplating the memories we had already made as well as those still to come, I wondered about the wish that Bella had made on the shooting star. If we could have _everything _we dreamed of, what would that entail?

At this moment in time, I couldn't think of one thing that I needed that I didn't already have. I had a beautiful wife, who I knew was meant for me just as I was meant for her, and when we returned from our honeymoon, we would find our wonderful family waiting for us. We had eternity ahead of us to love each other. As dark as my future had seemed just four years ago, I could see nothing but brightness and joy ahead of us. What else could I possibly want?

**A/N: So what did you think? That had a bit of everything - sweet Carlisle, Romantic Carlisle, sexy as hell dirty talking Carlisle...**


	3. 3 Fantasy Isle

**A/N: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I simply enjoy playing with it.**

**Glad to see you are all enjoying the honeymoon thus far. Here comes some more Bella and Carlisle fun.**

Chapter 3: Fantasy Isle

BPOV

After two weeks of sailing on our luxurious yacht with my amazing, handsome, sweet and extremely sexy husband, we were finally in sight of Isle Esme. As much as I loved every second of the trip here, I had to admit it would be nice to stand on dry land once again.

As we approached the island, I thought back to the last time we had come here. That time, the heartache and pain of our family's loss had been so fresh, so deeply ingrained in each of us, that we were barely a family. For lack of better wording, we were all barely even alive then. But now, as we near the beach, I see how much life has changed in the past four years. This time, Carlisle and I are coming to the island with our hearts full of joy and hope. We're coming after the best day of our lives rather than the worst, and there is a bright future ahead of us.

Carlisle docked the boat and turned to me. "We're here, my lovely wife," he whispered before leaning down to kiss me sweetly. As he pulled away, he lifted me up, bridal-style, in his arms, and ran us off the boat and up the beach to the house at vampire speed, laughing all the way. He set me down inside the door and kissed me again. "My love, why don't you take some time to relax, freshen up, whatever you'd like, while I bring everything in from the yacht?"

I agreed to his suggestion, and went into the white bedroom to take a shower, enjoying the spaciousness of it. When I finished, I found a towel, a bikini, and a folded piece of paper lying on the sink. I picked up the note first.

_Mrs. Cullen,_

_I hope you had a pleasant shower. Please join me on the beach when you are finished. I'll be missing you until then._

_All my love,_

_your husband_

I smiled, and then picked up the bikini. The top was white, halter-style, with pretty purple flowers and squiggly lines embroidered on it, and the bottom was the same color purple and tied at the sides. I dressed quickly, eager to get back to Carlisle.

Walking out to the beach, I was pleasantly surprised at what I found. Carlisle was lying on a light blue blanket in the sand in his white board shorts, glittering away in the sunshine, his blond hair waving in the light breeze. A slight smile teased at his lips, telling me that he was aware of my presence, but he stayed where he was. The sight reminded me a bit of the day he proposed to me - a radio and a picnic basket were sitting off to the side of the blanket just as they had on that day next to the lake.

I approached slowly, taking my time to admire the beautiful man on the blanket before me. His chiseled chest and abdomen rivaled that of any greek god, and his perfect facial features were the envy of every male model or movie star. His golden waves, the color of wheat in the sunshine, in perfect disarray. And best of all, he was mine.

I considered climbing on top of him and having my way with him, but he sat up just as I reached the blanket and held his arms out to me. I moved into his lap, letting him hold me close.

"You look gorgeous, my love," he whispered.

"Thank you. Alice picked out the suit."

"You look gorgeous in anything, baby," he replied.

Carlisle nuzzled my neck and placed several open-mouthed kisses there. I sighed contentedly in response.

We cuddled for a few more minutes before Carlisle insisted that I eat. He had packed me a light meal - just some fruit, cheese, and crackers, as well as juice to drink. The stereo played classic rock while I ate, and we simply enjoyed each other's company. Carlisle fed me several bites, mostly of the fruit, and never let his hand lose contact with my skin.

Once I was finished, we decided to take a swim. Carlisle showed off his vampire skills a bit, disappearing under the water for varying lengths of time before he'd pop up to surprise me. He actually scared me once, but hearing his joyous laughter each time he popped up was well worth the fright. He picked me up a few times and tossed me over his head into the water, always gently though. It was quite exhilarating when he threw me like that, as I would fly several yards through the air before slipping back into the water. I playfully protested each time he lifted me, but the truth was, I loved seeing him like this - so young and happy.

Not wanting to look like a raisin, I eventually suggested that we return to the beach for some sunbathing. Carlisle laughed at this idea, mostly because he had seen me lay out on the deck of the yacht nearly every day for two weeks, and yet I remained only two shades darker than him. I knew I would not tan, I really only bothered because I enjoyed the feeling of the sun warming my skin, and because I knew that Carlisle enjoyed watching me. _Oh yeah... You didn't think I was completely innocent, did you?_

We had been laying on the beach blanket for awhile, both of us sneaking (obviously not well) glances at each other's bodies the whole time, when Carlisle spoke.

"Sweetheart, you know I'd do anything for you, right?"

"Of course, Carlisle. As I would for you."

I noticed that his voice seemed to betray a bit of nervousness, which was a strange thing, as I had so rarely seen this man show such an emotion.

"Tell me, Bella, is there anything you want or need?"

"No, honey. I have everything that I want and need right here on this blanket with me. Why do you ask? Is everything alright?" I asked, slightly concerned by his tone.

"Don't worry, my love. Everything is just fine. I just... I mean..." his voice trailed off.

_A stuttering vampire? This has got to be a first!_

"Carlisle, honey, just tell me. There's no need to be nervous or embarrassed, I'm your wife now. There's nothing you can't tell me."

"It's just something I was thinking about..."

"Ok, tell me."

"Well, it all started about two years ago. Your twenty-first birthday to be exact."

I blushed immediately, and cursed vampire memory. That was a night I had tried hard to forget long ago... The night I had gotten drunk with my siblings and made a complete fool out of myself in front of Carlisle.

"Yes," I said through gritted teeth. "I remember that night."

"I wasn't sure if you would. You were quite, um... intoxicated."

"Yes, I know..."

"That night... Well, I _noticed_ you that night. It wasn't the first time, by any means. By that time I had already spent a year fighting my growing attraction for you, idiot that I was. But that night was perhaps the hardest, because it was the first time you made any advance toward me. I refused to take you seriously, knowing that you had been drinking, but it was hard."

"It was, was it?" I teased.

"Yes, my love, _it_ was most definitely hard," he said, laughing. "I went to my room to sit that night in a great amount of discomfort thanks to you."

My blush deepened, understanding his meaning. "Did you find a way to take care of your, uh, problem?" I asked, nearly salivating at the idea of him pleasuring himself at the thought of me. I felt my bikini bottoms, now dry from the sun, dampen at the thought.

"No, sweetheart, I did not."

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed.

"And thanks to my perfect, photographic vampire memory, I have relived that night many times in my head over the years, and it always ends in the same uncomfortable situation..."

"What is it that you are thinking of, exactly, honey?"

"Well, it was when you were talking about the drinks you had enjoyed that night. One was called sex on the beach."

_Oh god, if only vampires could blush! _

"You asked me if I had ever had sex on the beach, and proceeded to offer your assistance in the matter when I said that I had not."

I laughed in response, finally understanding his bad case of nerves.

I lowered my voice so that it took on a husky tone. "That offer still stands, Dr. Cullen," I said.

"I was hoping it would," he whispered lowly, his voice raspy with desire. "Because I have been imagining you naked in the sand for two years now..."

"Please..." I breathed, unable to form any more words.

He rolled himself over, so that he was hovering over me, and reached up to my neck to untie my top as his tongue entered my mouth. I moaned at the contact of our tongues as it sent bolts of electricity throughout my body. My hands ran up and down his muscled, naked back, taking pleasure in his form as well as the coolness of his skin, so refreshing against me on this hot beach. In our current position, our most important parts were still on the blanket, but our legs were tangled together in the sand from the thighs down.

He removed his mouth from mine to let me breathe, but instead of pulling away, he brought his lips down to my neck, suckling the skin above my pulse point, making me moan again.

Slowly, his hands, having untied the top of my bikini, pulled down the fabric, uncovering my breasts little by little. He left my neck and let his tongue follow the fabric down, licking all over the skin of my shoulders and chest before pulling my nipple into his mouth.

"Oh god....Carlisle...mmmmmmmm...." I breathed as my hands wrapped themselves into the waves of his golden hair.

I could hear him purring as he teased my breasts with his mouth and hands, creating a vibrating sensation that sent waves of pleasure shooting through me, from my nipples straight to my core.

"Honey...need you..." I whispered, trying to express myself through the haze of my desire.

"Soon, baby, I promise," he said, his mouth not leaving my breast.

I felt that I was going to explode already, and wanted more. I disentangled one hand from his hair and traced it down his body, gliding lightly over the skin of his back until I reached his taut ass, caressing it before coming around to the front of him, palming his erection through his board shorts. He growled at the contact, and I felt his cock swell even further against my hand.

"Uuuugggghhh....Bella..."

I reached my hands up to the waistband of his shorts, pulling them up and out over his hardness, and then dragging them down his legs until he kicked them off.

"Carlisle, honey...I want..._this_," I said as I grabbed his cock in my hand and squeezed it gently, "in me. Now."

He groaned loudly in response to my words, and brought his mouth back to mine, kissing me hungrily as his hands untied the sides of my bottoms. He made quick work of the ties, then whipped the fabric out from under me and tossed it into the sand beside us.

He took himself in his hand and began running the head of his cock up and down my folds, making me squirm and writhe in anticipation of his entrance. I whimpered, begging him to plunge into me.

"You want _this_, baby? Is _this_ what you need?"

"Please, Carlisle! Please!" I begged.

"Tell me again, Bella. Tell me how much you want me. I have to know..." he said, his voice thick with lust now.

"Honey...I want your cock...I need it Carlisle...I have to have you inside me...Please...give it to me honey...." I pleaded.

His only response was to thrust his hips forward, driving his cock all the way into my heat. We both groaned loudly at the pleasure of being joined yet again.

"God, Bella...I love being inside you....aaaahhhhh...."

"Me too...honey...god, me too...."

He brought his lips back to mine, pushing his tongue into my open mouth and letting it dance passionately with mine as he set a steady rhythm with his thrusts. My toes were digging into the sand and my fingers were seeking the same from his back as I became completely absorbed in the pleasure he was bringing me.

We kept it up for awhile, the coil in my stomach tightening more and more with each thrust until I was squeezing my eyes shut tightly, trying desperately to hang on for dear life. Suddenly, I felt a warm wind blow over my face, and, opening my eyes, found that Carlisle had flipped us over at vampire speed and I was now seated on top of him.

I pushed myself up with my thighs and dropped back down, encompassing his entire length within me. I groaned deeply and threw my head back as I rode him. He moaned and called out my name over and over as I moved above him, his hands reaching up to cup and massage my breasts.

"Bella....baby...uuugggghhhh....so good baby....god, you're...so...damn...sexy...."

"Mmmmm...Carlisle....I can't....I need....gonna cum....honey...so soon..."

I tried to wait for him, but he wasn't having it. He brought one of his hands down from teasing my nipple and began teasing my clit with it.

"Shit! CARLISLE!!!!!!!!" I screamed out as I came hard. I collapsed down onto his chest, trying to maintain my movements on him, but too lost in the waves of my orgasm to have much effect.

He quickly took control and flipped us, so that under him once again. He brought his lips to my skin, licking and nipping along my collarbone and up my neck as he thrust over and over into me. I could feel that he was close and that my orgasm had caused him to lose a bit of his hold on his control, but he wasn't hurting me. If anything, it was even better than usual, because I knew he was getting what he needed. I opened my eyes a little, looking up at him. His head was down against my neck, but I could see the tightness in the muscles of his perfect shoulders as he held himself over me. I grabbed onto his forearms, holding on to them as if to anchor myself to the ground as I felt a second climax building inside me.

"Bella...uuuughhhh...Bella baby...hell..."

His noises were beginning to sound more animalistic as he grunted with each thrust of his cock, and it was pushing me quickly to the edge.

"Carlisle....aaaaahhhhh....yes honey....so good..."

It was only two thrusts later when he finally let go, pushing deep into me one last time as he roared out my name, spilling his venom into me as he did. I could feel his cock pulsing, and I fell over the edge with him, screaming his name as my second orgasm hit me even harder than the first.

He fell down beside me on the blanket, both of us panting heavily, and nuzzled into my neck again. We laid there for several minutes, the only noises between us our breathing and the racing of my heart. When we had finally calmed, I opened my eyes again and looked down at him.

"Was it all you imagined?" I whispered.

"So much better, baby...so much better," he answered with a tired grin.

We spent the rest of the afternoon laying naked on the beach in each other's arms.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Carlisle was so cute in his nervousness to admit his fantasy, don't you think? Funny how once he knew Bella was into it his nervousness vanished to let the sexy, horny Carlisle take over yet again, lol. Love that guy!**

**More fun coming soon, I promise!**


	4. 4 HOT Springs

**A/N: Stephenie Meyer is the owner of all recognizable characters. I doubt she'd approve of what I've done with them, but that's okay with me!**

**PLEASE accept my appologies for this being so late. I am in Florida with my family on a short Disney trip, and haven't had much time with the internet. I am literally typing this at 3am. We go back home tomorrow, so I promise to be back to regular updates after this. To make up for my tardiness, I hope that the TWO lemons in this chapter will suffice. ;)**

**Just to quickly recap, Bella and Carlisle are still busy on their honeymoon, the rest of the Cullens, after cleaning up from the wedding and locking the house back up, have returned to Hanover for the summer and will continue school Fall term at Dartmouth College. It is currently the month of August.**

Chapter 4: HOT Springs

EmPOV

We got back to New Hampshire a few weeks ago after our trip to Forks for Bella and Carlisle's wedding. Even though I am more than okay that they got married, I have to admit it's a little weird for me to think that my little sis married the guy I've spent the last eighty years thinking of as my dad. But we all see how happy they are together, and really, it's about damn time the two of them got laid.

Jasper and I were just returning to the house from a hunt, and I was on a mission to find my sexy wife to get a bit of action myself when I found her in the living room with Alice, giggling like a couple of little girls. Jasper and I looked at each other, then jumped onto the couch next to our women to see what was so funny.

"Hey baby," I whispered to Rosie, sticking my tongue out to lick all around her ear, "whatcha laughing about?

"Hey grizz...," my lady replied, calling me by the nickname she always used when she's feeling horny, and scooting herself back on the couch so that she was pressing up against me. "Alice was just sharing a vision with me."

"Are you gonna tell us about it, Ali?" I asked the pixie.

"You sure you want to know?" she replied.

"Hell yeah!"

"Okay...."

"Wait, Alice. What's this vision about?" Jasper asked, probably because he picked up on some weird emotions from his wife.

"It's about Carlisle and Bella," she replied, smiling.

"Are you spying on their honeymoon?" He asked.

"Not on purpose!" She answered with indignation, as if it was something outrageous rather than something we all knew she did often.

"Uh huh," I teased, laughing loudly.

"So do you want to know or not?" She asked.

"Spill it sister!" I cried.

"Okay, well, the particular vision I just had was making Rose and I laugh because of something Bella said. But really, the whole damn honeymoon has had us giggling for weeks. You see, Bella has apparently brought out a whole new side of Carlisle that we didn't know existed!"

Rosie and Alice both started giggling again. Jasper and I looked at each other and shrugged.

"What do you mean?" I asked, slightly concerned at what she might answer.

"Well, it turns out that Carlisle is quite the lusty vampire these days... He even puts you to shame, grizz!" my wife answered, laughing as she nuzzled into me. "He's been giving it to Bella so much that poor Alice feels like she's stuck in a mental porno marathon!"

We all got a good laugh at that, but I made a mental note to take very good care of Rosie tonight - I wasn't going to lose my title!

"I had a feeling that would happen," Jasper said. "Those two practically ran me out of the house the week before their wedding - I nearly made out with Carlisle thanks to all the damn lust he was emitting!"

"I would have paid to see that!" I yelled out, laughing.

"You nearly did. Believe me when I tell you that this house very nearly experienced it's first orgy ever the week of the wedding - I had visions! But Carlisle isn't the only one to blame here," countered Alice. "Our sweet, little, innocent Bella is quite the vixen!"

"Hey, hey, that's my little sis you're talking about!" I cried, putting my hands over my ears.

"Just be prepared, brother dear, as it seems our little sis has lost all her inhibitions while on her honeymoon - she's been sunbathing in the nude for god's sakes!"

I wasn't sure just how to take that. I mean, Bella's my little sister, even if she is older than me now. But at the same time, I've seen the girl when she gets dressed up to go out, and there's no denying that she's smokin' hot. I've had to restrain myself from killing a few guys when we were out for the way they looked at her.

"Speaking of god," Rosie started. "You two weren't with us yet when Emmett was changed." I groaned, knowing where she was going with this story - she had teased me relentlessly about this for years after my change. "When I carried him back to our house from the woods, he was in really bad condition. In that state, he was sure he was dying and that I was an angel. His belief was confirmed when he saw Carlisle - he called him god."

"And Em isn't the only one!" Alice laughed gleefully. "Bella seems to be under the same misapprehension!"

"What do you mean, darlin'?" asked Jasper.

"Three words for you, cowboy: Oh. My. Carlisle!"

We all collapsed on the floor with laughter, and it took several minutes (thanks to Jasper's power, I'm sure) for me to calm down enough to speak again.

"You know this is the perfect set up for a great prank, right?"

Alice's eyes glazed over for a minute. "It's perfect Emmett!"

Suddenly, I was very excited for the honeymoon to be over. But for now, I'd have to find a way to keep myself busy until they got home.

"Come on, Rosie...I have a title to maintain!" I cried, grabbing my sexy wife around the waist, throwing her over my shoulder, and running her up to our bedroom.

CPOV

The sun was just beginning to rise over the island as I returned to the house. I had taken the yacht back to the mainland to get in some big game hunting overnight. I had noticed even while we were still on the yacht that, even though I had no desire to drink from Bella, I was feeling a nearly overwhelming urge to bite when I came as time passed. I was fairly certain that was because I had been drinking from a thermos rather than actually hunting, so I decided to rectify that situation as thoroughly as possible.

Two jaguars and a caiman later, I was returning to my lovely wife. I desperately needed to shower before joining her in bed, as I was covered in dirt and fur and even a few spots of blood. Any member of my family would have been shocked to see me coming home looking this way, as I was generally just as clean returning from a hunt as I was leaving for one. But today I was very rough and primal in my hunting, desperate to get those animalistic feelings out of m my system.

Fresh from my shower, I climbed into the bed, laying my naked body down behind that of my wife, curling myself around her so that no part of her warm skin was ignored. I sighed contentedly as I allowed her warmth to wash over me. Even in her sleep, she seemed to realize I was there, and she scooted her body back further into mine. The soft, rounded cheek of her ass grazed my cock when she did this, and I was immediately erect. God! The effect this woman had on me was nothing short of incredible!

Fighting my desire to wake her immediately to make love to her, I took several deep breaths and allowed my hands to cup her breasts, simply enjoying the feeling of their weight.

It was only a moment later when she pushed herself back again, grinding into my arousal. I could not stifle the groan this time, and I felt my self-control slip another notch.

_Let her sleep, Carlisle! You can wait a bit longer!_

_No! No! Take her now! Just slip your cock right into that sweet, wet heat. She won't mind!_

_Let her sleep, let her sleep, let her sleep!_

My inner monologue was not helping in the least. _What on earth was she doing to me? _I've never felt so out of control in all my existence, not even as a newborn! It was hard enough to restrain myself before our wedding, but now that I've felt what it's like to be inside her, it is as if any shred of dignity and propriety flew out the window!

I managed a few more minutes, watching the clock religiously, waiting for a time that would be appropriate to wake her, before the smell of her arousal hit me in full force.

_Oh, for the love of god!_

I listened to the sound of her heart rate and breathing, and both still indicated that she was asleep. _She's dreaming of me, though... _

I could tell that my control was merely dangling my a thread. Already, as if on it's own, my cock was straining toward her, desperately trying to reach the place it truly wanted to be. Then she moaned, calling my name soft and low. That was the final straw.

I thrust my hips forward, allowing my cock to slip into her folds in one quick motion, moaning deeply at the pleasure of being sheathed inside her. She gasped, awakening at the sensation, reaching backward with one hand to grip my hip.

"Ooohhhhh....Carlisle...." she breathed. "I thought I was dreaming."

"You were, baby, and it was more than I could take, I'm sorry. I just had to be in you," I whispered, my mouth barely leaving the skin of her neck as I spoke, then returning to lip and nip at the sweet flesh there.

"Never be sorry, honey. I always want you in me," she replied, pushing her hips back against me to further demonstrate her point.

"Ugh...Bella baby....I might just....take you...up...on...that..." I said, punctuating each word with another thrust of my cock into her.

"Mmmm...I love it...when...you take me," she answered huskily. _My wife the vixen._

My palms were still cupping her breasts as I took her from behind, and I used one to tease her nipple, rolling it between my thumb and forefinger and lightly tugging on it, while I let the other slide down her body until I reached her little bundle of nerves, circling it and flicking it with two fingers.

"Ooooohhhh...honey...you're so....fucking...good at...that...uuugggghhhh...don't stop....Carlisle....oh god...don't stop..."

I loved hearing her like this. Her praise, coming out in that breathy manner from her dirty little mouth..._Fuck_. It made my cock swell even more.

"You're so...tight...this way, baby...so tight....god!...uuuuggghhh...I love...it...I never want to stop!"

"Then don't....aaaahhhhh....I'm yours, Carlisle....oh god....mmmmm....all yours...."

_Yes. Mine. All mine. Hell yes. My wife! Ohhhhhhh god...so good, so damn tight!_

I was beyond thinking, as lost as I was to the pleasure. When she said she was mine, it set off some primal vampire instinct. I wanted to mark her. I brought my lips down to her neck, just over her pulse, and sucked the flesh into my mouth, lapping at it with my tongue as I sucked it.

I felt her walls tightening around me, and rubbed her clit harder and faster.

Bringing my lips back to her ear, I whispered to her. "That's right baby, cum for me...ooooohhh Bella, I feel it...let me hear you baby..."

"OOOOOHHHHHH Carlisle! Oh god! AAAAAHHHHH!!!!" She cried.

Her head fell back against my shoulder and my eyes rolled back in my head as her walls clenched and milked my cock, pulling my orgasm from me.

"Uuuuuggghhhhhh! Bellaaaaaa!"

We laid there, panting, for a few minutes, my length softening inside her, as I continued to hold her against me. Finally, I pulled out, bringing my upper hand away from her clit to brush her hair back out of her eyes.

"I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you too, Carlisle...so much."

A few hours later, Bella was finally dressed and fed. I was a bit worried that my beautiful wife was feeling sore from the extreme amount of sexual activity we had been participating in, and wanted her to take it easy today. I had found some hot springs on the other side of the island, near the edge of the forest, and thought that she would enjoy a nice soak. She came out of the bedroom wearing a white strapless dress over a bikini, and, as usual, took my breath away. I wondered to myself once again how I had ever restrained myself for two years when I was currently struggling to do so for two hours!

"Are you ready to go, my love?" I asked.

"Yeah honey," she answered.

"Come, then," I replied, gesturing for her to climb up on my back. "It will be much easier for me to carry you."

She climbed up onto my back and I ran us, along the beach, around to the opposite side of the island, to where I had found the hot springs. When we arrived, I let her slide down gently, and turned to see her face, evidently surprised by the sight.

"What is this?" she asked.

"It is a hot spring, sweetheart. It's like a natural jacuzzi, without the jets of course. I thought you might like a nice soak to relax you and soothe any aches you might have."

She stopped moving, her sundress halfway down her thighs. "Carlisle, what are you talking about?"

I reached out to her, laying a hand on her upper arm. "Sweetheart, it's alright. I just, well, I was worried that I might have been neglecting your human frailty in my never-ending desire for you. I feared I may have made you uncomfortable, at the very least."

She finished slipping the dress off, and then looked up at me, cupping my cheeks in her tiny hands. She looked deeply into my eyes as she spoke. "Honey, I promise you that I am fine. I also promise to be honest with you if that changes in any way. I will love the hot spring, I'm sure, but your worries are unfounded."

Sighing in relief, I gave her a gentle kiss before pulling away to take her in. She was wearing a little blue bikini that tied at the sides on the bottom, and on the back and neck at the top. It was covered with tiny white polka dots, and had ruffles along the edges of the fabric. She looked sexy, yet sweet at the same time. She had pulled her hair into a braid, with only thin wisps hanging near her face.

With my arms around her, I stepped back a few feet until I reached the water's edge, then slipped the both of us into the warm water.

We sat together in the spring for well over an hour, chatting about plans for the future, about her hopes that we would spend more time with Carmen and Eleazar - a hope which greatly pleased me. I was thrilled that she was so taken with the wife of my best friend, and that there was not only no awkwardness in the relationship, but that there was truly love between them already. We discussed how the future would be different now for our family - we were seriously considering the idea of the six of us playing the roles of twenty-something brothers and sisters rather than a father and his adopted children. Bella still felt uncomfortable with the idea of playing the "mom" to her siblings, and feels it's unfair for them to have to repeat high school over and over constantly. Letting them play older roles would definitely offer the "kids" a chance to broaden their horizons, which I was a chance that Bella and I certainly felt they deserved.

We discussed all of these topics, but we also spent a great deal of our time laughing and kissing and simply enjoying each other. I had found several ticklish spots on her body and exploited that knowledge a bit so that I could revel in the joyous sound of her laughter.

Just before I was going to suggest we leave the spring, Bella climbed into my lap, straddling my waist, her sweet breasts grazing my chest in her tiny bikini top, nearly bringing me to distraction.

"Do you remember the first time we met?" she asked.

"Of course. That was a very interesting day - I thought my house might be torn down by fighting adolescent vampires that afternoon, all over you!"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, let's just say that not every member of the family was thrilled with Edward's actions in saving you from the van. Not, of course, that anyone wanted you dead, nor does anyone now wish that he had made a different decision, but on that day, we did not yet know that you could be trusted with our secret. You were therefore quite the danger to us."

"Strange, to think of me as a danger to vampires... But I do understand. I'm glad everyone eventually came around, at any rate."

"As am I, sweetheart."

"But that wasn't really what I was thinking of when I brought up the subject of that day."

"Oh no?"

"No. I was thinking more about the actual moment that we met. You walked into that ER and I caught sight of you..."

I could hear her heartbeat quicken at the memory. "What did you think?" I whispered.

"Well, I am a woman, and I have eyes. I obviously noticed that you were gorgeous right away."

"Oh, did you now?" I asked, my voice lowering an octave.

"Yes," she replied huskily. "You were so gorgeous, and so then I heard your voice. There was a part of me, even on that day, that wanted you. But, of course, I realized who you were and brought myself under control. I just wanted you to know, though, that, even then, I noticed. Even then, I wanted you."

I was taken aback. I had never imagined she thought of me that way, well, until well after Edward and Esme's death. But that she had felt it from the first day... It surprised me, but also filled me with pride and desire for her. When she said she wanted me, her words went straight to my cock, and the result, I'm sure, did not go unnoticed by her.

It didn't. She responded by grinding her hips into me, rubbing her heat over my erection, and groaning. _Oh Bella, I wanted to let you rest this afternoon...What are you doing to me?_

I didn't want to break my own resolve to give her a break, but I did want her to know how much I had wanted her for so long. I wanted to give her the same pride she had given me.

"You know, the first time I wanted you was the first halloween at Dartmouth. You came down the stairs dressed as Dorothy, in that scrap of fabric that you called a dress, and despite every effort I made to prevent it, the desire took me over. I wanted to lay you down right there on the stairs and take you. You made me so damn hard that night."

"Like you are right now?" she teased breathily.

I pushed my hips up, pressing my cock against her. "Yes, baby, just like now," I replied, need thick in my voice. "But baby, you are supposed to be resting this afternoon - I told you, I don't want you to start hurting."

I saw her face fall for just a moment before her lusty expression returned.

"Alright, honey. I think we better get out of this water, then. Take away the temptation, you know?"

I nodded my agreement, knowing that my fervent desire could wait, and lifted her up easily, setting her on the dry ground just to the side of me before climbing out myself. I picked up a towel and wrapped it around her, holding her against me in a gentle embrace.

"So let me get this straight," she whispered. "You're worried that I am going to be too sore from the two of us having sex so often, right?"

"Yes, my love."

"And even though you want me right now, you aren't going to take me because of this worry?"

"That's right - I want you to have a break. My desire can wait."

"That's all I needed to know," she replied lowly, dropping to her knees in front of me. _Shit... She looks so damn sexy on her knees like that! _She quickly reached up and grabbed the waist of my board shorts, pulling them down before I had a chance to protest. In one swift motion, she took my entire length into her mouth, bringing her lips flush with my pelvic bone. _Ooooooohhhhhh god oh god oh god! _ The sight of her on her knees before me, looking up at me through her lashes with my cock in her mouth, combined with the feeling of her hot, wet tongue swirling around my length was too much. I nearly came like an adolescent, but was able to maintain some level of control.

She bobbed her head several times up and down my length as I fought to remain standing and to keep my eyes on her. I groaned lowly, and she pulled her mouth off of me.

"I assume that this is an acceptable way around your rules, honey?"

"God, yes, baby...please...please don't stop..."

She didn't. She took my cock in her hand and used her tongue to tease the head a bit before taking it all into her mouth once again. She sucked hard, grazing me with her teeth a few times, making me crazy.

"Bella, baby.... I love your...mouth...on me....you're so...damn good...at this...uuuggghhh"

She moaned around my length, sending a vibration through me that pushed me closer to the edge.

_Hold on Carlisle! This it too good to let it end already!_

Suddenly, in a move that shocked me more than the blowjob itself, I watched as Bella's hand made it's way down onto her own body, lightly grazing over her skin, until it entered her bikini bottoms. I could see from the shape it made that she was touching herself, and I growled.

"Baby...uuuuuggggghhh...take off your bottoms, I want to watch you."

She let me slide out of her mouth and stood up, her hands coming to her sides and removing the offending fabric.

"You want me to touch myself honey?" She asked, her voice thick with desire.

"Hell yes, Bella. I want to watch you touch yourself. It's so fucking hot baby."

"Can you watch while I'm sucking your cock, Carlisle? Because I really, really don't want to stop."

I groaned, my eyes rolling back in my head. Bella dirty talking had to be the hottest thing ever. I pulled her close to me, bringing my tongue down to lick all around her ear.

"So you like to suck me, do you?" I asked in a raspy voice.

"No, honey. I don't like it. I fucking love to suck your long, thick cock. I love the way it tastes, and the way it feels in my mouth. And I love watching you let yourself go when I make you cum, shooting your hot cum down my throat. It makes me so hot, Carlisle. That's why I was touching myself - just the thought of your cock in my mouth almost makes me cum."

_OH MY GOD. _I very nearly came at her words. I knew that I loved putting my mouth on her and tasting her, but I never realized just how much she enjoyed doing it to me.

"Isabella Cullen, you are the sexiest, most dangerous creature I've ever come across. What do you say you get back down on your knees, wrap that dirty little mouth around my cock, and rub your sweet little clit for me?"

She didn't answer with words, but instead just did as I asked. I am sure it was the sexiest damn thing I've ever seen or heard. There she was, down on her knees, fingering herself while she sucked me for all she was worth, moaning nearly a constant stream of incomprehensible sound. I brought my hands down, pushing the fabric of her top away from her breasts, and began rolling and tugging her nipples.

Her moans became louder and more erratic, and she increased the suction of her mouth around me. I watched as she slid two fingers into her slit, pumping them in and out of herself while she rubbed her clit with her thumb. That was all I could handle.

"Oh god, baby....I need you to cum baby....cum with me....uuuuuggggghhhhh!!!!!"

As my venom shot out in spurts into her mouth, she swallowed around me, groaning loudly, and I could see her muscles tense up as her own orgasm overtook her. She didn't drop my cock until she was done writhing below me, and when she did, she laid her head against my thigh, still breathing heavily. I collapsed down next to her, spent, and held her in my arms.

"Leave it to you, Bella, to find a way around the rules," I said, laughing.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that. **


	5. 5 One Last Day

**A/N: I am, as you all know, not Stephenie Meyer. All credit for the creation of these characters is hers, but I am loving having my way with them!**

**The honeymoon is quickly drawing to a close, as you will see in this chapter. It's not over yet, though. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Chapter 5: One Last Day

BPOV

We were nearly at the end of our time on Isle Esme. Originally, we had expected to spend three weeks of our five week honeymoon on the island, but we chose to sail at a much more leisurely pace than originally planned, which suited us just fine, and only left ourselves about ten days on the island.

Even though we technically had no reason to go home, with Carlisle having already left his job at the hospital and my college career completed, we had promised my siblings to be home in time for my birthday. I had argued this point, but they were determined, seeing as how it would be my last birthday as a human, so we agreed. And in all honesty, as much as I was truly enjoying my time alone with Carlisle, I did look forward to seeing them again.

We decided to spend our last day enjoying the island as much as possible. We started with a hike through the rain forest. We walked slowly, hand in hand, through the slightly rough terrain, just enjoying some light conversation as well as our natural surroundings. I really loved times like these with Carlisle - they reminded me of the early days of our friendship when we'd sit in my window seat or in the tree swing just talking about anything and everything. To me, those times were what made us fall in love - we shared ourselves mentally and emotionally back then, and we both let the other into our hearts.

I always tried not to compare Carlisle and Edward - the relationships seemed like they belonged in separate lifetimes - but I couldn't deny that what Carlisle and I shared was deeper and felt more real than my relationship with Edward. With Carlisle, I felt like we belonged together, like we were on equal footing with each other, even though I was still human. We shared the intensity that had been present with Edward, but the underlying trust, honesty, and faith in each other made us stronger.

And then, of course, there was the physical aspect of our relationship to consider... Wow. Certainly I had experienced desire in the pre-Mrs. Cullen days, but this was out of control. I seriously doubted that I could ever get enough of this man! I was unquestioningly satisfied every time we were together, but it really seemed like he had ignited a fire within me, and it was only being fueled by his every touch.

I was brought out of my musings by a rather strange sound. I cocked my head to one side, trying to listen more carefully. Then I heard it a second time.

"Oh Carlisle...harder...awk!"

I looked at my husband to find him returning my gaze, his eyebrows raised and his mouth gaping, and we both collapsed on the forest floor in uncontrollable laughter. Apparently, our last hike in the woods, during which we found ourselves slightly distracted, had brought us closer to the parrot habitat than we realized. It took several minutes for us to calm, during which time I thought back to our last hike.

_Carlisle and I had been hiking for over an hour in the rain forest, engaging in light banter and a bit of heavy flirting along the way. We came to a small clearing where the sun was shining through a break in the trees. I turned toward Carlisle, shirtless with army green cargo shorts slung low on his hips, giving me a mouthwatering view of the v of his hips, just as the sun hit him. His skin immediately began to sparkle, stepping up his usual beauty to pure godliness. Sparkling Carlisle was undeniably irresistible, and I was not in the mood to try. _

_I jumped up into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist, and immediately attacked his lips with my own. He growled softly in his surprise, but quickly opened his mouth to me, letting my tongue in to explore. While we kissed, he dropped down to his knees and laid my down on my back on the ground. He never stopped kissing me as he ripped my shirt open, revealing the bikini top beneath, and tugged at my shorts until they were pooling around my knees. He dropped his mouth down to my breasts, laving them with his tongue, bringing each of the nipples to full attention. Then he moved further down, teasing the flesh of my stomach with his lips while he untied the sides of my bottoms. _

_He slid his mouth down to my hips, tracing the skin with his cold tongue, and then sucked the skin over my hipbone into his mouth, marking me as his once again. Done with his play, he licked his way to my center, entering my folds and making me moan loudly. _

_He teased me for several minutes until I was begging for him to enter me. He sat up and plunged his perfect cock into me. We both groaned at the contact and he set a slow pace with his thrusts. It didn't take long before I was desperate for more, and began pleading for him to take me harder. He complied, and our sounds became a duet of groans, moans, and grunts. We climaxed together, both of us crying out in pleasure. _

_We laid together on the ground for several minutes, allowing our breath and my heart rate to return to normal, before we stood and redressed, and then left to continue our hike. _

"Carlisle?" I asked. "Do you remember the last time we came to Isle Esme and visited the parrots?"

"Yes, sweetheart. I believe you trained the birds to repeat phrases in order to tease Emmett and Rosalie."

"That's right," I replied. "And I have to say that, while this was unintentional, it is a hell of a lot funnier!"

We fell over each other again, both of us laughing, I until tears ran down my face.

Eventually we got up and continued our hike, circling around the island until we reached the beach closest to the house. We undressed to our bathing suits (although quite honestly, I don't know why we didn't just swim in the nude - it was a private beach after all!) and ran into the water. We spent a while floating side by side, allowing the waves to carry us along the water and the sun to warm our skin. When we tired of floating, we swam together for awhile, Carlisle holding me on his back and swimming far out into the water and back again in his version of "laps".

Eventually, we returned to the beach, laying down in the sand and allowing the water to wash over our legs as the waves came in. We held each other close as we lay there, kissing deeply. These kisses were not filled with need and urgency, though. We were simply sharing our love with each other. We laid that way until the sky turned coral with the kiss of the setting sun.

At that time, Carlisle reluctantly pulled the two of us up and led us back into the house. He prepared a light dinner for me while I showered away the sand, and then he showered himself while I ate. Afterwards, I cleaned up the dishes and put away everything in the kitchen before walking into the bedroom and making sure that everything there had been packed as well. As I prepared our luggage, Carlisle went all through the house, gathering any stray items to pack and closing up all of the windows and doors in preparation for our departure. With the last of our things packed, he carried our luggage out to the yacht.

I stood in the doorway of our bedroom, sighing with a bit of melancholy that we were leaving our little piece of paradise, when I felt my husband's cool arms wrap around my waist and pull me into his chest.

"Don't worry, my love, we'll always come back here, you'll see. Certainly this isn't the last time you'll spend in this room."

I knew he was right, but I still hated the thought of leaving. Something about this place was so safe, so perfect. Being on the island was like living in a protected bubble, wherein nothing bad could ever happen to us. We came here once to learn to handle our sadness, but this time we had come to revel in our joy and love and desire. In both cases, however, we had come here to escape reality. Part of me dreaded returning to it. What would reality hold for us this time?

Carlisle seemed to read my thoughts.

"Bella, sweetheart, there is nothing but love ahead of us. We'll go home, yes, but the time we have spent together on this island was only the beginning of our lives as Dr and Mrs Cullen. Never forget that."

With those words, he brought his lips down to my shoulder, kissing his way along the exposed flesh up to my neck. I sighed softly, loving the feel of his mouth on my skin. I let my head fall to the side to give him easier access. His hands slowly made their way up to my breasts under my tank top, gently lifting the lace of my bra out of his way so that he could caress them.

"I love you, Mrs. Cullen, wherever we are, no matter what. You are the love of my existence," he whispered.

"And I love you, Dr Cullen. You are the one who holds my heart and soul."

He lifted my shirt over my head and then turned me gently so that I was facing him. He was still shirtless after his shower, and my nipples brushed against the cold, hard skin of his chest, hardening them. He softly moaned my name before bringing his lips up to mine. He kissed me deeply, his tongue moving with mine in a slow, sensual dance as his hands ran up and down my back gently.

Bringing his hands to my hips, he lifted me up and carried me to the bed, laying me down and climbing into it and laying next to me, never taking his lips from mine.

We stayed that way, kissing passionately, for several minutes before he finally drew his lips away from mine. He brought them down to my now bare breasts, teasing the nipples with his tongue as I panted his name. I reached down between us, untying the drawstring of his shorts and tugging them down. Once I had access to his erection, I reached down and palmed it, rubbing up and down slowly while he groaned at the contact.

"God, Bella...that feels amazing....you....are amazing....I love you."

"Mmmmm....Carlisle...I love you....so much..."

He returned his lips to mine and reached down to remove my shorts as I had done his. In a matter of seconds, we were lying next to each other naked, our bodies touching at every point possible, and both of us using our hands to bring pleasure to each other. We both moaned softly intermittently, reveling in our closeness.

"Honey....please...."

"What do you...want...baby?"

"Make love to me...Carlisle...please..."

He answered by moving to position himself over me, spreading my legs apart. I felt his erection pressing against my thigh and shivered in anticipation. My hips bucked up towards him, my body desperate to be connected to him. He didn't deny my desire, and pressed his hips forward, pushing his entire length into me in one stroke.

"UGH, Carlisle... so right...so good..."

"Bella, baby...I love...being...inside you..."

He set a leisurely pace with his thrusts so that both of us were drawing exquisite pleasure from our joining. His strokes within me were long, nearly pulling all the way out with each before plunging back into me again. Each thrust was punctuated by our moans.

He leaned down over me, bringing our upper bodies flush with each other, my nipples rubbing against his marble skin as his thrusts forced my body to move up and down his. He placed one hand behind my head to pull my face to him, and kissed me sensually again. This kiss had more passion and fire than those that came before it, but it was still equal from both sides - neither of us desiring a dominant position as we made love.

"My love...my wife...my Bella...love you...always..." he breathed as he gave me time to breathe.

"I'm yours, Carlisle...for eternity..."

He pulled me towards him as he lifted himself up off of the bed, bringing us to a position in which he was on his knees and I was straddling him. He held me close as he continued to thrust into me, now reaching even deeper into my depths. I felt the tension in my belly reaching its limit, and fought to hold on, wanting to prolong this rather spiritual lovemaking as long as possible.

I brought my hands up to cup his cheeks and opened my eyes to lock with his. "I love you...I love you...I love you..." Tears began to fall from my eyes as I spoke, seeing the effect of my words in his eyes. As many times as I said those three words to him, he always knew that I meant them with every fiber of my being, and they affected him deeply.

"You are my everything..." he whispered.

"I felt the muscles of his back tightening as I returned my hands to his shoulder blades, and knew that he was seconds from cumming. My head fell back and my mouth gaped open as I let myself go.

"Aaaaaahhhhhhh....Carlisle......god!"

"Ooohhhhhhh....Bella..."

I felt myself explode around him as I came, the world completely blackening around me as the fireworks lit in front of my eyes. A flash of white light and the feeling of electricity flowing through me shocked me, my eyes immediately opening wide. As they opened, they stared straight into Carlisle's, whose face was surely reflecting the shock that I felt. For one second we froze like that, but then he pressed his lips hard against mine, kissing me fiercely.

It was strange, the love we had just made was so heartfelt - I have never felt so connected to him - and when we came, I felt as if I had been ripped apart and fit back together again. It was unquestionably the most incredible orgasm of my life. I felt like something had changed, though I had no idea what.

Then Carlisle pulled away, he looked me deep in the eyes. "I love you, Bella. Now it's time to leave the island and sail towards our future. Whatever it brings, we will meet it together."

**A/N: Hope that was pleasurable for you as well. I figured they aught to end their time on the island with a very special experience, seeing as how they spent most of their time there fucking their brains out, lol.**

**Just so you know, my sentimental good-bye to the island was most likely related to the fact that my husband went back to UAE this morning and I have been feeling pretty sad all day. So show me some love, folks, I could use it!**

**Next chapter should be up in the next two days. **


	6. 6 A Pit Stop

**A/N: A big thank you to Stephenie Meyer for creating such fabulous characters. I do so enjoy reading and writing about them.**

**Sorry for the slight delay in posting this, I tried to do it yesterday, but there was a problem with the fanfiction site's document manager and I couldn't upload. I hope you'll enjoy it!**

Chapter 6: A Pit Stop

CPOV

We sailed away from Isle Esme this evening, both of us feeling a bit heavy-hearted at the departure. Even though I knew, logically, that we had forever to return to the island over and over again, there was something that seemed so final in leaving it this time. I supposed it was simply the fact that it was technically the end of our honeymoon, but really that didn't bother me as much as one might expect. True, our entire honeymoon thus far had been nothing less than a dream. However, a large part of me was excited by the idea of returning from the trip to truly begin our lives as husband and wife.

After contacting Alice to assure that we'd have appropriate weather, I decided to make a pit stop in Rio de Janiero before really setting sail for Miami. I thought that Bella might enjoy one day of true sightseeing before we returned to New Hampshire, and Bella was always excited about spending time in big cities, and Rio certainly qualified.

The trip to Rio from Isle Esme was only about forty minutes, and once I had the boat docked, I picked up the overnight bag that Bella had packed for us and then carried my beautiful wife off the boat. We checked into a hotel near Corcovado hill, and Bella was already slipping into a deep sleep when I laid her down on the bed.

I held Bella all night as she slept, my mind returning over and over to out love making just before we left the island. I wasn't thinking of it in a desirous way, though, but rather with a reflective curiosity. I was actually thinking about the way it ended - it was surreal, really, and I replayed it over and over in my head, simply trying to understand it.

_I pulled myself up so that I was sitting on my knees, bringing her with up with me and holding her in my lap, her legs still wrapped around me. I never stopped thrusting into her, and found that this new position allowed me to reach even further into her than before. The feeling of her heat encasing my cock so completely was intense, and I was struggling to hold on, wanting to prolong our connection as long as I could. _

_Then she placed her hands on my face, holding a cheek in each palm, and whispered "I love you" over and over again, crying silent tears as she did. The pure love that shone in her eyes combined with her words, and my long dead heart overflowed with joy and love. I didn't know what I had done to deserve someone as special as Bella, but I did know that I would cherish every second that I had with her._

_"You are my everything..." I whispered, with complete sincerity. I knew that I would be nothing without her. Her love was my lifeline, my saving grace, my reason for existing at all. I loved her eternally._

_The physical and emotional pleasure suddenly overwhelmed me, and I felt my entire body tense as my climax overtook me. As I spasmed inside her, I felt her inner walls clench around me as well. We both cried out in our ecstasy._

_As I came, I saw a flash of white light, and felt electricity flowing through my body. It seemed that the world split in two and righted itself once again in that moment, and I couldn't understand what was happening. I opened my eyes in shock, and saw that Bella seemed to be experiencing something similar. _

_Still completely confused, I pushed the feelings away and took her lips in mine, kissing her hard, wanting to ground myself back in reality. As we kissed, I couldn't seem to escape the feeling that whatever it was that I had just felt was not a product of my imagination, nor was it something insignificant. I suspected that there was some meaning behind it, but for all my existence, could not guess what that meaning might be. _

_I pulled my lips back from those of my wife, looking deep into her chocolate eyes. "I love you, Bella. Now it's time to leave the island and sail towards our future. Whatever it brings, we will meet it together."_

As the first colors of the sunrise filtered through the curtains of our hotel room, I was no closer to discovering the secret than I was the night before. Perhaps I would never know. I tilted my face towards my sleeping wife and gently kissed her hair, knowing that my words last night were true - if there was in fact anything in our future, we would face it together, just as we had faced the past together. Because no matter what, she was my partner, my love, and my life. I would not leave her side, for we were much stronger together than apart.

By the time Bella awakened, the clouds had taken over the sky and hidden the sun in their depths, just as Alice promised. We ordered some breakfast for her from the room service, and then we both dressed. I slipped into a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a turquoise polo shirt before sitting to wait for my wife to be ready. I was lucky, really, because Bella was mostly low-maintenance, and took only a short time to look amazing. Today was no different. She emerged from the bathroom wearing a pair of tailored black bermuda shorts and an emerald-colored tee shirt with fluttery sleeves and braiding at the neckline. She had paired this ensemble with cute and sexy black crocheted wedge sandals with a woven bottom, and chunky bangles in black and light wood. The top half of her hair was pulled into a emerald green clip while the rest waved down her back. She was an absolute vision. And she was my wife.

I briskly walked to her and took her into my arms, placing a gentle kiss on her full lips. "You look beautiful, my love."

She kissed me back with such passion that I had to pull away much too early so that we didn't spend the entire day in the hotel room. She gave me a look of mock disappointment when my lips left hers, but a quick reminder that we had plans for the day was enough to placate her.

Our first stop for the day after dropping our bag off back on the yacht was Corcovado hill. It is an amazing natural site, a granite hill standing 710 meters above the sea just west of the center of Rio. But it what stands atop the hill that makes it so spectacular an attraction: a 38 meter tall statue of Jesus called "Christ the Redeemer" (only ten meters shorter than the statue of liberty, it is quite the site). People come from all over to see this incredible piece of artistry, and I was sure Bella would enjoy it as well.

There are two ways to get to the top of the hill, but three if you are a vampire. Rather than wait in line for hours for the train, I took the vampire method and ran up the hill with my wife on my back. The cloud cover was thick, even atop the hill, so we were free to explore without fear of exposure.

When I set her down on the ground, Bella gasped at the sight before her and grabbed my hand. "Oh my, Carlisle, it's absolutely amazing!"

I agreed with her, and the two of us walked around the statue several times, viewing it from every angle, both of us impressed with the detail and grandeur. Once we had sufficiently taken it in, we turned our backs on the statue to truly admire the view. It was breathtaking, really. Standing on this hill, the city of Rio de Janiero sprawled out under our feet, the Atlantic and more mountains across from it, gave one the feeling of being larger than life. I stood there, behind Bella, my arms wrapped around her, holding her against my chest, and saw the world at my feet. The world that we had forever to see and to explore. Every opportunity was before us, and we stood there together realizing this fact. As I had been so many times before, I was filled with hope at the thought of the eternity before us.

I carried Bella back down the hill after a while, and we caught a taxi back into downtown. The taxi dropped us off at the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes after a thirty minute ride, and I handed him some bills as we stepped out of the cab. This was the main museum for fine arts in Brazil, and had quite a good collection of the works of the country's most beloved artists. The building itself was quite impressive, as it was designed to mimic The Louvre in France.

We walked hand in hand through the museum, admiring all of the different works. Probably our favorite artist represented was Victor Meirelles, a nineteenth century painter whose works were generally religious or military in nature and always about Brazil. We were both quite impressed with his painting _The First Mass in Brazil_, and spent a great deal of time studying it. Bella had a mixed reaction to the idea of the painting, with the missionaries holding mass while the natives simply looked on in curiosity, feeling both a bit of intrigue and irritation, a reaction I suspected was related to her history with the Quiluete tribe.

When we finished our tour of the museum, I took Bella to a nearby restaurant that served local cuisine. She had been doing her best in the last few months to sample as many different foods and beverages as possible while she still had a taste for something other than blood, so I thought she would appreciate another opportunity. The menu was in Portuguese, a language that Bella was still unfamiliar with, so I asked her what she would like.

"I want to try something local, something quintessentially Brazilian," she replied.

When the waitress arrived, she spoke to us in Portuguese, giving us her name and asking for our order. ""Olá,  
me chamo Mariana. Posso te ajudar?"

I noticed that she seemed to be appraising me a bit, and knew that Bella would not appreciate her attentions. "Sim, obrigado. Minha esposa gostaria de Feijoada," I replied, explaining that my wife would like to try the feijoada, a meat and bean stew that was the national dish of Brazil.

Mariana excused herself to enter the order, and as she walked away, I caught the scent of Bella's arousal hovering in the air. I gave her a curious glance, trying to maintain my control as my venom pooled in my cock as a result of the scent.

"Speak Portuguese again, Carlisle," she requested breathily.

I realized that her desire was caused by hearing me speak the language, and decided to fuel the flames a bit.

""Oh Bella, minha linda esposa, como eu gostaria de fazer amor contigo aqui nesta mesa."

She drew in a sharp breath, and I saw her face tinge with pink.

"Você é a única que me faz sentir deste jeito."

The scent of her in the air became more concentrated, and her eyes were becoming hooded with desire.

"Seu cheiro está me deixando louco de desejo."

Her lips parted as she panted, rapidly losing herself to her lust. I was quickly joining her, my self-control, a moment ago hanging by a thread, now completely non-existant._ If she'll let me, I'll take her right now._

" Estou morrendo para te provar. Por favor me deixe lamber sua buceta."

"I don't know what you are saying, Carlisle. I cannot speak Portuguese," she said lowly as she rose from her chair and slid into the booth next to me, her scent and her pounding heart calling to me, hardening my cock even further somehow. She places her hand on my thigh and slowly rubbed up and down over my shorts, getting nearer to where I most desired her with each pass. She leaned in close to me, tilting her head up, and ran her tongue along the rim of my ear, making me shudder with pleasure. "But I do know that I want you, honey. And I don't think I can wait," she whispered.

_I don't think I can either!_

I tried in vain to protest. All I could think of, though, was how desperate I was to taste her.

"Come with me, my love," I whispered, pulling her hand to get her to follow me away from the booth and toward the back hall of the restaurant. We passed our waitress on our way, and I asked her not to cancel our order, promising to return to the table in a moment.

I took Bella to a dark corner in the deserted area in the back of the restaurant, and pressed her up against the wall, kissing her fiercely. She immediately responded, opening her mouth to me and meeting my tongue in a passionate duel for control. Her fingers tangled in my hair, tugging it as if to pull me closer to her. My hands, which had been pressing against the wall, reached for her unconsciously, sliding down her body until they found the button of her shorts. I did not stop kissing her as I opened her shorts and reached down into them to run a finger over her slick folds.

"Oooohhh, baby.... You're so wet, just like I knew you would be," I whispered as I slipped a finger into her. She moaned. "Ssshhhh, Bella, you must stay quiet this time, or we'll be found."

I dropped down to a crouch in front of her, adding a second finger to the one that was already pumping tnto her tight heat. I pulled her shorts down around her knees, as well as her tiny black panties, and then immediately found her sweet clit with my tongue. I felt the muscles of her thighs tense and heard her inhale sharply as she tried to stay quiet. I looked up at her with only my eyes as I continued to tease her, wanting to watch her react to my ministrations, and saw that she was pulling her own hair, her hands tightly fisted, her head thrown back against the wall.

_She is so god damn delicious! Mmmmmm...._

I swirled my tongue over her clit and then sucked it into my mouth, still pleasuring her with my fingers at the same time. All the while I could hear the muted conversations of the other patrons of the restaurant and the clattering of dishes in the kitchen. I knew our actions were completely unseemly, but couldn't find it in myself to care in that moment.

When Bella's hips began to buck against my lips, I knew that she was very close to her climax. I pulled my mouth away from her for a second to speak. "Bella, baby, look at me," I said lowly. I wanted her to watch as I made her cum. I wanted to see her fall apart at my doing.

She tipped her head down, looking at me, and I saw that she was panting heavily, biting her lower lip. _That is so fucking sexy!_ I pressed my tongue hard against her clit, flicking it only twice before I felt her walls clench around my fingers. I slipped them out of her and lowered my tongue to her slit, lapping up the sweet juices she released.

As soon as I was sure I had tasted it all, I stood, bringing my mouth to hers in a hungry kiss while I undid my shorts at vampire speed and let them fall around my ankles. In one motion, I was fully seated within her, groaning softly at the intensity of her warmth wrapped around me. I reached down with my hands and cupped her perfect little ass, lifting her gently, letting her wrap her legs around my waist as I thrust into her over and over again.

"Meu Deus, Bella, você é tão apertada. Eu amo estar dentro de você," I whispered.

"Oh Carlisle....god....so good...mmmmmm.....uuggghhhh....."

"Ssshhhhh baby....mmmmm....oh god, I can't wait...."

"Me neither baby....aaaaaahhhhhh..."

I pressed my lips to hers, kissing her deeply as we came together, swallowing each other's moans. We stilled, our breath coming in heavy pants, Bella's heart pounding in her chest, for several moments before I pulled out of her, both of us groaning at the loss of the connection. We quickly righted our clothing, suddenly realizing our inappropriate location, and kissed one last time before I led my red-faced wife back to our table, where her stew was waiting for her.

Bella enjoyed her lunch and then we thanked Mariana, who had come to check on us after our return with raised eyebrows, most likely having a good idea what we had been doing, with a large tip before leaving. We walked out of the restaurant, holding hands and laughing like teenagers.

We spent the afternoon at the Parque do Flamengo, the amazing concrete and glass building that houses the Museu de Arte Moderna. This museum held over four thousand works by contemporary Brazilian artists, including the Gilberto Chateaubriand collection. He is perhaps the most important Brazilian artist, and this particular museum has a constant influx of work, so that no matter how often one comes to the museum, they are sure to see something that they've not seen before.

Bella and I were sufficiently impressed with his art, although his modernist and impressionist style was not our favorite style. Our enjoyment of the pieces, however, was thorough, and undoubtedly enhanced by our post-coital bliss. I knew, however, that even if I was looking at art that I absolutely detested, if I was looking at it with Bella, I would be happy. I would never stop enjoying this shared past time with her.

We finished with the museum with about an hour to spare before sunset. We walked outside and found another taxi, and I requested that the driver take us back to Corcovado. When we arrived, I once again carried Bella up the hill. We found a nice spot overlooking the ocean, and sat down, me leaning up against a tree and she sitting between my legs, leaning into my chest. We sat quietly, Bella tipping her head back every so often to meet my lips in a tender kiss, and watched as the sky colored with the sunset behind the hills. I was glad that, despite the cloud cover all day that allowed us to go out, the beauty of the sunset was still able to be enjoyed.

The air cooled as the stars began to emerge, and I could tell that Bella was getting sleepy. I carried her back down the hill and ran us back to La Bella Luce. I laid her gently on our bed, her eyes already closed, and removed her shoes before bringing the blanket up to cover her. I kissed her softly on the forehead and whispered my love to her before leaving the room to go to the captain's chair.

Starting up the boat, I drove us out of the marina and into the open sea, away from the mainland of South America. There would be no more pit stops on the way, as I had promised Alice to have Bella back in New Hampshire in time for her twenty-third birthday, but we would certainly enjoy the trip back as much as we had enjoyed it on the way to Isle Esme. I smiled as the land began to disappear even from my sharp vampire vision, because I knew that we were truly on our way home.

**A/N: Translation of Carlisle's words in the restaurant: **

**"Oh Bella, my beautiful wife, how I would love to make love to you right here on this table."**

**"You are the only one who makes me feel this way."**

**"Your scent is making me mad with desire."**

**"I am dying to taste you. Please let me lick your sweet pussy."**

**"God Bella, you are so tight. I love being inside of you." **

**Check out my profile for links to Bella's outfit, pics of the Corcovado, and the major works of art mentioned in this chapter. I hope that you enjoyed it.**

**The next chapter will be the last of the honeymoon - the trip home. **


	7. 7 Descriptions

**A/N: I think we are all well aware that I am not Stephenie Meyer. Seriously, it's true. But I don't mind, I like being me.**

**Here it is, the end of the honeymoon. Enjoy.**

Chapter 7: Descriptions

BPOV

I was sitting in my first class seat on a flight from Miami to Boston, my honeymoon officially over in two more hours. Carlisle was in the window seat leaning against the wall of the plane while I sat next to him, leaning into his chest, wrapped securely in his strong arms. Feeling safe and comfortable, I was completely lost in thought.

While it was true that our honeymoon was ending, I could only see this flight home as a beginning. It was the beginning of our real life as husband and wife. Or, I guess I should say, our life in the real world. I cannot deny that being on our own yacht as well as on a secluded, private island, completely removed from all the world except each other was absolutely fabulous. Having five weeks with only the two of us had given us a chance not only to fully explore each other physically, but also to deepen our emotional/mental connection. And I had no reason to doubt, having spent the last four years living in a house with two other vampire couples, one of them being Rosalie and Emmett, that being back in the world, and back with our family, would have any negative effect of said physical explorations...

Our trip back on the yacht from Brazil to Miami was just as amazing as the way down had been. Carlisle was, as per usual, a little bit of everything, combined together to form the perfect man. The perfect husband.

He was romantic.

_The best example of that was our second day at sea. We were still somewhere off the coast of Brazil, but nearing the easternmost point of it where it hooks out. I woke up that morning in our cabin, alone as was the usual, since Carlisle did most of the sailing while I slept at night, to find a note on the bed next to me. _

_Mrs. Cullen, _

_I hope you slept well. I have missed you all night. The beauty of the sunrise this morning lacked its usual splendor as I compared it to you. Please wear this dress when you are ready to come up. I will be awaiting your arrival to brighten my day. I love you, my sweet wife. xoxo_

_Next to the note was laid a gauzy teal dress, smocked at the top. I took a quick shower, got dressed, and made my way into the main cabin to make some breakfast. Carlisle was not inside, so I knew he would be driving from the captain's area on the bridge above me. _

_After cleaning up my bowl of cereal, I walked toward the back of the yacht, so that I could go up the stairs and join him. I knew there was no way to really surprise him, as he could hear my heartbeat and smell me coming, but that didn't stop me from approaching him silently from behind and slipping my arms around him, pressing my lips to his neck in greeting. _

_"Mmmmm...Is that my beautiful wife?" He said as he turned his face to meet my lips in a kiss. _

_We kissed for several minutes, having missed each other during the night, before he pulled away and looked me over. "You look so pretty in that dress, sweetheart. Won't you come join me on the front deck?"_

_I thanked him and agreed. He flicked a switch and then picked me up bridal style and hopped over the railing, landing gently and noiselessly on the padded deck. I gasped in surprise when I saw it. How on earth did he do these things when we were in the middle of the ocean? _

_The railing that surrounded the front deck of the yacht had been wound with garlands of white roses and lilies, exactly like the ones from our wedding. As we stepped forward, I heard the opening swell of the music of Frank Sinatra's You, My Love - our wedding song. I smiled as I looked up at my amazing husband. _

_"Dance with me, Mrs. Cullen?" He asked, holding his arms out to me. _

_"Always," I replied, stepping into his embrace. _

_The front deck was by no means a large area, but it was enough for him to hold me close, swaying to the music, as well as twirl and dip me. As we danced, he softly sang along with the lyrics. _

_We danced for nearly an hour, the music recreating our wedding reception. It was perfect, being in his arms, dancing with him. I knew this was one of his favorite ways to spend time with me, and it was one that I quite enjoyed as well. I was still amazed, and quite curious, at how he had managed to set it up. But my vampires could pull off anything, I knew that well. _

_He took one step back from me, and I thought we were finished. Instead, he cupped my cheeks with his hands. "Isabella, you are my best friend, my lover, my everything. You make me so very happy, and I will never stop trying to make you as happy. It was nine months ago today that you and I danced to this next song. Nine months ago that I held you in my arms as I opened my heart to you. Nine months ago that I knew for sure that there was a reason to smile again and to look forward to my future. I loved you so much on that day, Bella. But today, I love you a thousand times more."_

_He kissed me sweetly as he slipped his back down my back and pulled me close to him, the notes of Someone Like You beginning to play behind us. Just like the night at the end of term dance in Scotland, the song brought tears to my eyes - sweet, happy tears - knowing that the man in whose arms I was held was mine for eternity. _

_When the song ended, he sank to his knees on the padded deck, pulling me down into his lap, and kissed me with tenderness and love for what seemed like hours as we made sweet love in the sunshine._

He was entertaining.

_On our fourth day at sea, we sat together on the bridge while Carlisle captained the yacht as it approached the end of the Brazilian coastline. I was lying on the deck, sunning myself in my coral-colored bikini (what a joke - all this time in the sun and I was still only slightly darker than Carlisle!) as we chatted. Carlisle was telling me old family stories, which I always loved. Today, he was focusing on the sixties, and I was wishing that I had a time machine to go back and see it all with my own eyes, because it sounded absolutely priceless!_

_The particular story he was telling was about the wrath of Alice when Jasper decided to become a hippie. Apparently, Alice was all about mod style, as was Rosalie, and had forced the rest of the family to go along with it. _

_"Jasper, on the other hand," Carlisle explained, "was the perfect fit for the hippie lifestyle. He's always been just as you know him now - easy-going, laid back, very natural. He had once been a soldier, it's true, but thanks to his empathy, and the fact that he had so recently escaped life in Maria's hell, he was a complete peace-nik, as we called them then. Jasper went out for a hunt with Emmett one afternoon, and when they returned, he was wearing a pair of bell bottom jeans and an open brown vest over a white tee shirt, and he had a colorful band tied around his head. Alice, had she still had a beating heart, would have gone into cardiac arrest! She flew off the handle, screaming at Jasper about his lack of style, and how dare he call himself a Cullen while dressed like this."_

_At this point, Jasper, despite his peaceful ways, decided to argue with Alice. "I haven't called myself a Cullen, Ali," he said. "My name is Jasper HALE." _

_Really, Bella, I thought Alice's head might explode at that comment. There wasn't time, though. Rosalie came running into the house, absolutely livid. "Don't you dare say you are a Hale with that insult to automobiles you drove home!" She screamed, her hands flailing over her head. _

_As it turned out, Jasper had not only changed his clothes, but also his car. He left in a 1965 Plymouth Sport Fury, which of course Rose had completely worked over. He returned, on the other hand, in a rather colorfully painted Volkswagon bus. You can imagine just how unacceptable Rosalie might find such a vehicle," Carlisle continued, raising an eyebrow at me knowingly._

_At this point, Esme and I entered the room. I wish you could have seen Esme back then, with her beehive - she looked just like a quintessential television mother. The age contrast between her and the girls seemed even more pronounced back then than it did when you knew us. _

_Anyway, we came in and saw Alice and Rosalie both very obviously angry, Jasper appearing to have just smoked marijuana with the local surfers (despite the fact that we were living in Connecticut), and Edward and Emmett seemed to be attempting to calm the situation with very little success._

_I whistled loudly to get their attention, and everyone suddenly quieted. "What's going on?" I asked._

_"Well, dad," Emmett began, "Alice and Rosie are pretty hacked at Jasper because of his new, uh, style."_

_"Isn't it up to Jasper to decide for himself what he would like to wear and drive?" I asked. _

_Wrong question I suppose, as I was answered with a prompt no from both girls. How silly of me. _

_"Dad," Rosalie whined, "That circus wagon belongs in the bone yard, not in front of our home."_

_"And Jazz looks like a regular stoner. What will people say?"_

_"That I'm a far out vampire, babe," Jasper replied, bringing our attention back onto the reality of our situation. "Come on, let's go chill and listen to some Dylan."_

_"Fuckin' A, man," Emmett agreed, following Jasper out of the room._

_Edward sighed and went back to his piano, Alice and Rosalie stormed out of the room, Rose back to the garage and Alice mumbling about how on earth she was going to find fashionable flower child attire. And me? I looked at Esme and asked her what on earth our children had just said."_

_"Carlisle," I asked silkily, "Were you not cool in those days? A little behind on the lingo?" I teased. _

_"Baby, I was very far from it. I was a little bit lost in the Ward Cleaver role at that point," he laughed._

_I tried to picture it, but it just made me laugh harder. "So how did it all end?"_

_"Oh, Jasper spent about three weeks as a hippie before Rosalie picked up his VW bus and threw it into the river behind our house when he asked her to tune it up. By that time, Alice had already bought him high end hippie style clothing and he was feeling pretty disillusioned by the whole idea. Things pretty much went back to normal after that, although it took Emmett nearly a year to forget Jasper's promise to hang out with stoners and try to share a contact high with him."_

_I laughed at his story, and at the idea of him being so out of touch...or maybe just at the thought of Alice allowing him to be so out of touch. I begged for another story, and another, and we passed much of the afternoon laughing on the bridge of the yacht. I wondered if, someday, we'd be laughing about old stories of our own past._

He was ridiculously sexy! Really, he was irresistable. I couldn't count the number of times I had dampened my panties (or, more commonly, my bikini bottoms) at the sight of him in a pair of his low-slung board shorts, the v of his hips prominently on display and his bare chest sparkling in the sun. I laughed out loud as I considered the idea that if he were describing me on our trip home, he'd most likely use the word insatiable. After all, he had used it several times on the yacht, including on our seventh day of sailing.

_I was lying on the front deck of the yacht in my bikini, reading Oliver Twist, when I patch of light from above caught my attention. I turned my face toward it, and saw that it was my devilishly sexy husband standing above me, completely nude, his hand slowly stroking his erection. My bikini bottoms were instantly soaked. _

_"Hey honey," I said, trying to keep my voice steady and nonchalant. I seriously doubted he was buying it though._

_He didn't stop what he was doing. My mouth was watering, my heart was pounding, my breath coming out in pants, and I knew that he knew it. And he was playing with me._

_I sat up, trying to get ahold of myself, but to no avail. As long as that hand, that hand that had touched me so many times, that had brought me to so many climaxes, was moving up and down that delicious cock. How on earth was he keeping such a straight face? He looked so unaffected, but I knew from the glistening drop of pre-cum on his tip that he was much more affected than he was letting on. _

_Well, two could play at this game. I reached up to the fabric that (barely) covered my breasts, and slid it to the sides, revealing myself to him. I saw him inhale sharply, but still he didn't say a word. So I took my hands that were still at chest level, and grabbed onto my nipples, lightly tugging them, my head falling back a little bit at the sensation. _

_"Uuugggghhhh..." The low moan that emerged from his throat showed me that I was breaking him. _

_He kept his eyes focused on me as I slid my hands down slowly over my skin until I reached my hips, untying the sides of my bikini bottoms and letting the fabric that covered me fall on its own. Carlisle's eyes fluttered as I was revealed to him, and I heard the sound of his purr begin. _

_I slid up from my sitting position until I was on my knees, and then leaned forward, bringing my face closer and closer to his hardness. I licked my lips deliberately as I looked up at him, and then brought both my eyes and my mouth back down onto his cock. I slid my lips slowly down his length until my nose reached his curls, stopping there to swirl around him with my tongue._

_"Oh god, Bella....shit..."_

_I worked him for a few minutes, teasing his cock with my lips, tongue, and teeth, until I had him moaning and murmuring incomprehensibly. Then, just when I could feel his thigh muscles start to tense in my grasp, I let him slide out of my mouth. He groaned with frustration, and I giggled, pulling myself up his body until I was standing on my tiptoes, bringing my lips as close to his ear as I could reach._

_"You like that, honey?" I asked._

_"Oh Bella...yes baby, so much...Why did you stop?"_

_"Good things come to those who wait, Carlisle. Now lay down."_

_He followed my instructions, laying his back on the padded deck. Once he was settled, I stepped over him so that I had a leg on each side of him, I lowered myself down ever so slowly, sheathing his cock within me as I lowered. We both groaned at the contact, and I waited only a few seconds before I began rocking back and forth on his, reveling at the friction that it made on my clit. My head fell back and I moaned uncontrollably as I felt my climax approaching already. I was almost embarrassed that I was going to cum so quickly, but there was nothing I could do at this point to stop it. _

_"Oh god, Carlisle...honey...gonna cum....uuuuggghhhhh...." _

_I cried out as the wave of pleasure crashed over me, and completely lost my momentum. He responded by taking control and pushing up with his hips to thrust into me. His movements intensified my pleasure, and I came a second time immediately. My legs were shaking after the second climax, so Carlisle flipped us over so that he was on top, and continued plunging into me. I knew that he was close still because of my teasing earlier combined with being inside me as I came around him twice. He was grunting with each thrust, and I could see the ecstasy in his eyes. _

_He brought his lips down to mine, attacking my mouth feverishly as we neared our release. _

_"Bella....Bella.....baby...hell...so good...aaaahhhhh..."_

_I wrapped my legs around his waist, using them as leverage to lift my ass up off of the mat below me, and it was just enough to bring him into contact with my g-spot. _

_"Oh my...CARLISLE!!!!" I screamed out as my orgasm overtook me._

_It only took one more thrust before he followed, shooting his cool venom into me as he cried out my name in pleasure. We collapsed together on the deck, laying there for several minutes still wrapped around each other, as we tried to regulate our breathing, and in my case, heart rate. When I was calmed, I looked over at the gorgeous man to my side. _

_"We're going to have to get a heavy-duty cleaning for this yacht when we get home..." I teased._

_"I warned you, baby. I told you not to wear those tiny bikinis when you come out on this deck. Don't you see what it does to me?"_

_"Of course I do... Why do you think I keep wearing them?" I giggled. _

_"You, my gorgeous wife, are a dangerous creature indeed."_

_"And you are a bona fide sex god. Why wouldn't I use the tools at my disposal?" _

_"You are insatiable, beautiful Bella. But you are mine..." He said, laughing into my hair as he pulled me closer to him. _

Of all the ways to describe Carlisle, however, one stuck out the most in my mind. Perhaps because it was the one that was the most important to me of all. Carlisle was romantic and tender and sweet, he was also sexy and dirty and totally amazing in bed, he was my best friend - all these were true. But the key way to describe him was this: he was my husband.

There wasn't one specific memory to illustrate this one. Every memory was testament to this fact. The way that he recreated our wedding reception, the way that he left little notes on his pillow for me every morning, always addressed to "Mrs. Cullen", the way he looked at me adoringly as we sat together on the deck of the yacht or even right now in our first class seats on the plane. It was in the unconscious way he played with our wedding bands while we held hands. It was in the way he would whisper the word "mine" when we were having sex. It was there when he made sweet, sensual, tender love to me each night, and the way he told me to dream of him as I drifted off to sleep. Most importantly, it was there every time he talked about _our_ future.

As the flight attendant came onto the speaker to announce that the plane was beginning its descent into Boston, I thought back to the evening on La Bella Luce, as we sailed toward Isle Esme, when we saw the shooting star. We wished that we'd have everything we ever dreamed of in our marriage. At this moment, I wondered what I could dream of that I didn't already have. Certainly I had the best husband ever. Our family was amazing, we had great friends, we had an eternity before us to explore each other and the world.

I suppose the only thing worth wishing for then, would be peace. For some reason, Edward and I were never granted that. We always had something against us, whether it was James, Victoria, the Volturi, or even our own low self-esteem... Thus far, my time with Carlisle had been unmarred by violence and threats. I could only pray it would stay that way, so that we could enjoy our forever.

As the wheels of the plane touched down, I leaned over to kiss my husband gently on the lips. Our honeymoon was officially over. But now our lives as Dr and Mrs Cullen would really begin.

**A/N: Well, it seems Bella and Carlisle had a great honeymoon, but both are ready for real life. Do you think real life will be all they hoped for? Stay tuned to find out!**


	8. 8 There's No Place Like Home

**A/N: Twilight and it's characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm grateful for the chance to have my way with them in this story though.**

**I don't know if you've heard, but there is a new fan fic awards called The Twilight Indies. It's for new authors who aren't getting much attention. I am thrilled that this has been done, as it will bring some great stories out of obscurity for us to find and enjoy! Check it out at http : // theindietwificawards . com and nominate something you love! Last day for nominations is June 23.**

**Now, on with the show.**

Chapter 8: There's No Place Like Home

CPOV

Our plane landed in Boston just before eleven in the morning. As promised (by Alice), the day was overcast, but no rain was falling. Perfect. I had held Bella against me during the flight as we sat quietly. Bella seemed to be nearly asleep, but I was certain that she was only lost in her daydreams. I could only imagine what thoughts were going through her head, as I knew mine was busy replaying the highlight reel of our honeymoon.

What a wonderful trip it had been. I have to admit, buying her that yacht was one of the best decisions I have ever made - now we always have a place to escape together, even if we never leave the marina. All the time we spent traveling to and from Isle Esme was used to deepen our connection even further, both emotionally and physically. These two facets of our relationship were equally important to me, and as my perfect vampire memory recalled moments of our honeymoon, both were represented.

I pressed a lingering kiss against Bella's lips as we stepped off the plane.

"Our honeymoon is officially over now. Are you ready for the real world, Mrs. Cullen?" I asked her.

"I am, actually. But I am pretty sure that, even back here in New England, every day with you will still feel like a honeymoon, Dr Cullen," she cooed.

_My god, how I loved this woman!_

"Come on, honey," she said. "Let's go home."

Home had a new meaning to me now. Home was wherever Bella was.

In terms of our abode, however, there was change there as well. We had both lived in the Hanover house for three years, but this time, we would live there together, as husband and wife. No longer would there be _my_ room and _her_ room - this time there would only be _our_ room. For just a moment, I let my mind slide over all of the nights that we laid together in what was then my bed, and all of the passionate moments we shared there. Tonight, for the very first time, we would make love in that bed. I could hardly wait.

We made our way through the airport toward the baggage claim. I scanned the crowd as we neared it, searching for the driver that I had asked Alice to send. Instead, I was met with a much more pleasant, although also much more embarrassing, site: my four "children" were standing about one hundred meters from us, holding an incredibly large sign which read "Welcome home, Dr and Mrs Cullen!" as well as nearly a dozen balloons. All four of them were grinning widely, and I was sure my expression reflected theirs.

I leaned down, bringing my face nearer to Bella's height, and pointed her in the direction of her siblings. "Look, my love, over there."

It took only seconds for her eyes to catch a glimpse of the family waiting for us and for her to squeal in delight. My dead heart warmed yet again at the enormous amount of love shared in this family.

Bella let go of my hand and began running towards them, and Emmett was the first to drop the sign and run, at a barely human speed, in her direction, his arms wide open to embrace her.

"Little sis!!!! You're home!" He bellowed as he pulled her up into a tight hug and spun her around several times.

I grinned as I watched their joyous reunion, my eyes so focused on the sparkle in Bella's eyes that I was completely blindsided by the whirlwind that is Alice as she threw herself into my arms, hugging me tightly around the neck.

"It's good to see you too, Alice," I teased, hugging her back with equal enthusiasm. Jasper walked up beside us, clapping me on the back and flashing me a wide smile. "Son," I said, nodding at him and returning his smile.

"Welcome home, Dad," he replied.

I looked back toward my wife and saw her embracing Rosalie, both of them obviously thrilled to be back together. I shook my head lightly, still slightly amazed at how much things have changed for my family these past few years. Whoever would have imagined this moment? I would doubt even Alice could have foreseen it.

I set Alice down and walked the few steps over to where Emmett and Rosalie stood so that I could greet them as well, and Bella disappeared into a massive Jasper and Alice hug. I wrapped my arms around Rosalie, giving her a light kiss on the cheek. Emmett gave me a brutally strong man-hug as soon as I let his wife go. As he did, he whispered into my ear a question regarding the quality of sex with a human, which was answered with a slap of Rosalie's hand across the back of his head. Ah, home... There's definitely no place like it.

Alice led the way as we walked out of the airport, taking us to a black Cadillac Escalade. I looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Just a rental for the day, Dad, don't worry. We have some plans and didn't want to have to drive more than one car."

I smiled at her knowing grin, and helped Bella climb up into the seat. Jasper was driving, with Alice beside him, and Emmett and Rose sat behind Bella and me. I noticed right away that Jasper seemed thrilled with the truck, and thought perhaps it would make a good choice of vehicle for our move to British Columbia next year.

Bella begged Alice to tell her where we were going, but of course the pixie refused to spoil her surprise. She didn't have to wait long, however, to find out, as it was merely ten minutes that passed before we reached our destination. We spent those minutes passing pleasant conversation about the honeymoon, luckily without anymore sexual questions, which I knew would greatly embarrass Bella. In fact, most of the questions were about La Bella Luce, and directed at us from Rosalie. I wondered if she was trying to give a hint to Emmett for their next wedding.

When Jasper parked the Escalade, I looked out the window and began laughing. _Only my family, _I thought.

Emmett, at the sound of my laughter, looked out his own window and let loose a loud guffaw. Bella, confused by our response, looked out as well. She turned back to me with questioning eyes.

"My love, it seems that Alice saw fit to take a family of vegetarian vampires to a what amounts to a buffet," I said with a teasing tone directed toward the front seat.

"Come on, Carlisle," whined Alice. "It's the zoo! We've never been before, and I was sure Bella would enjoy it!"

I could think of at least one reason why we'd never been before, but didn't mention it. Instead, I acquiesced, hoping that Alice had Seen that there would be no complications on this trip, and helped my lovely wife down from her seat.

"Please, everyone just be on your best behavior," I sighed. "And if you feel too thirsty, say something and we'll leave right away." _This was going to be an interesting afternoon._

Our first stop inside the zoo was called the Serengeti Crossing, and it housed ostriches, zebra, and wildebeests.

"Ugh," moaned Jasper.

"What's wrong, big brother," Bella asked, concern evident in her tone.

"The zebra! It smells awful...like brussels sprouts!"

We all laughed, Bella at the mere idea of a zebra smelling like a vegetable, and the rest of us at the realization that Jasper's comments weren't very far off in terms of accuracy. Looking around our little group, I noticed that Emmett adn Rosalie had also wrinkled their noses.

"Come on, then, let's go to the next area," I said, sounding like an exasperated father. Holding Bella's hand, I led my family down the path and then turned right on the trail that would lead us to the lions and tigers, passing the giraffes on our left with a noticeable grimace from both of my sons.

As we approached the lions enclosure, I felt the venom begin to pool in my mouth and forcefully swallowed it down. _Mmmm...certainly better than deer... _I heard a faint growl and turned my head toward the sound. _Rosalie?_ _That was a surprise. _

"Wow, look at his mane - it's incredible," Bella exclaimed, looking at the male with wonder.

"Look at his femoral artery, pulsing in his leg..." whispered Rosalie, her voice sounding more like she wanted to make love to the animal than anything else.

I gave a meaningful look to Emmett, who immediately slipped his arm around his wife's shoulders. I saw him swallowing hard, and remembered that, as much as he preferred bears, Emmett certainly enjoyed hunting the large predators of the African grasslands. _Really, Alice, what were you thinking?_

As I forced down another mouthful of venom, I tried to find a way to distract myself. I turned to my wife, still gazing into the lion enclosure, mesmerized, and felt lust wash over me. I tilted my head down, bringing my lips into contact with the sweet skin on her neck, grazing over it with my tongue. I heard her moan lightly, and the sound spurred me on. I pressed my tongue more firmly against her skin, laving it with attention, until I found myself directly over her jugular vein, and sucked her flesh into my mouth, enjoying the sweetness of her taste. As I did this, my hand found its way under the fabric of her cotton shirt and onto the soft lace covering her breast. Bella moaned again, a little less softly than last time.

"OH MY CARLISLE! What are you doing Jasper???" Alice exclaimed, bringing me back to reality.

_What did she just say?_ _I swear I thought Alice said my name! _I looked over at the couple, who I saw had just been in a similarly compromising position as my own, although Jasper was not being nearly as discreet as I thought I had been.

"I think it's best for us to get away from the lions," Alice said. "If we stay here, we WILL be forced to leave, either for lewd behavior in a family enviornment" she glared at both myself and her husband, "or for draining the lions, which would be quite difficult to explain," she finished, directing this glare at Rosalie.

Bella flushed with embarrassment at Alice's implication, so I rubbed my hand in smoothing circles on her back.

"Come on, let's go see something else," I said, using the hand already on her back to lead Bella away from the tempting blood of the lions.

We walked down the path quickly, trying to get ourselves away from the danger, even though the reality was that _we_ were the danger. We approached the area known as the Outback Trail, which housed the kangaroos and emus. We stood watching a pair of kangaroos fighting while balancing on their tails when Bella looked up at me.

"Honey? What do the kangaroos smell like?" she asked with a smile.

I was still somewhat amazed that my wife could, and always had, addressed our vampire nature with such casualness.

I sniffed the air, and stuck my tongue out a bit to determine the scent. _Ew._ _No wonder there are no vampires known of in Australia... One whiff of the air must be enough to drive them out._

"I believe it's a mixture of kiwi and mushrooms." She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Yes, it's quite revolting, actually."

"Maybe we should just go home," she suggested. "This place seems to be all wrong for our family."

_I love the way that sounds - our family. _

I began to agree, but Alice interrupted, saying that we had to make one last stop before we left, and she promised that it would not cause any further bloodlust issues. We agreed to go along, despite our skepticism, and she led us into the bird house. She was right - with birds being cold-blooded, there was no problem for us in here. We walked around casually, looking at the various types of birds.

"Hey, cool! Carlisle, Bella, come check this out!" Emmett called. Bella and I walked to where he and the others were standing, only to find them crowded around an enclosure filled with parrots. My memory immediately flashed to the parrots living on Isle Esme, and their recent penchant for pornographic speech, and I struggled to withhold the chuckle that fought to come out. Looking down at my lovely wife, however, I could see that she had not been nearly as successful containing her blush. Her head now resembled a tomato, and I had little doubt that she was recalling the island parrots as well.

I squeezed her hand in mine to reassure her, and lightly kissed the top of her head.

"You know, Dad, since birds don't bother us, maybe we could get some parrots like these to have as pets at the house," Jasper suggested.

I looked at the group before me, and noticed that they all seemed to be holding in laughter. _What was going on here? _

"I don't think we need any pets," Bella interjected, still blushing. "Especially not parrots." She looked up at me and grinned conspiratorially.

"But just think of all the fun things we could teach them to say, Carlisle," Jasper continued.

"Yeah, in a house like ours, where no one ever sleeps, they'd be sure to learn such interesting phrases," said Emmett, snickering.

Bella and I just looked at each other, unable to comment. I winked at her, and she drew in a sharp breath.

"Alright, guys, I think Bella is probably ready for some food. Why don't we start walking toward the car?" I said, desperately hoping to change the subject. I couldn't help but feel it was getting too close for comfort.

We managed to get back to the Escalade without any further incident, and we drove to a nearby Burger King to get a cheeseburger for Bella. Emmett teased her continuously about the smell of her sandwich as we drove, saying that it nearly made the kangaroo smell appetizing. The car was filled with laughter the entire drive.

Finally, we made it to our next stop, which was Fenway Park. Bella and I were ecstatic that the others were taking us to see the Red Sox game, although, quite honestly, I was having trouble pushing back my most recent memories of baseball and Bella.

"Carlisle? What's up Dad? You have a thing for men in tight pants?" Jasper asked, obviously picking up on my increased feelings of lust since our arrival at the stadium.

"No, Jasper, not quite," was my curt reply. _Sometimes I hated that my family members had extra abilities_.

He chuckled softly at the annoyance I sent his way. _Really, what was with my sons and their need to mention sex at every turn today? _

The Red Sox were playing against Baltimore tonight. We all sat together in very impressive seats on the third base line enjoying the game like a normal family for the first seven innings, participating in the wave, booing bad calls, cheering good plays. It was the bottom of the seventh, however, when everything changed. David Oritz was up to bat, with two runners already on base, when he hit a curve ball right into the crowd behind center field. The fans went wild, but it was the announcer who caught my attention.

"Oh my Carlisle! Look at that ball fly!" He cried.

_What did he just say???_

I turned my head instantly to Bella beside me, who seemed as confused as I was. "Did you hear the announcer just now?" I asked.

"Yes, it sounded like he said your name," she replied. "But why would he have done that - it's so odd!"

I looked beside my wife and saw Emmett and Rosalie falling all over each other, completely lost to their laughter. Turning to my other side, I saw the same behavior from Alice and Jasper. It was then that I realized exactly what was going on. And it had two names: Alice and Emmett. I shook my head. It was going to be a long car ride home.

The game ended, with the Red Sox winning in a score of nine to six. We made our way through the crowd and back to the Escalade to begin the drive back to Hanover. We had only driven about ten miles out of town when Bella surprised all of us by opening her mouth.

"Alice? You're my sister, right? And you've been my best friend since I was seventeen?"

"That's right, Bella," Alice replied, her voice revealing that she was slightly confused.

"And in all the time we've known each other, wouldn't you say, that at least in the vast majority of cases, that we've been open and honest with each other?"

"Yes," answered Alice, dragging out the word.

"So then would you like to tell me why there was apparently an broadcast of my honeymoon played on the Alice channel?"

The tension in the car melted away and everyone in the car, including Bella, dissolved in giggles, Jasper's ability intensifying our amusement.

"I'm sorry Bella, really," Alice chimed once her laughter was under control. "But it was just too funny not to share!"

"Sure, sure. But just so you all know, I was on my honeymoon, and fully within my rights to have as much sex with my god of a husband as I so desired," she said matter-of-factly.

My jaw dropped open, as did many others in the car.

"Oh god, Bells, don't say shit like that!" Emmett bellowed. "I do NOT need THAT mental image!"

"Really Em?" Bella said sweetly. "I thought you'd like it, seeing as how I have SO enjoyed the last four years of 'God yes, Grizz, Harder!' and listening to your headboard bang against the wall from across the house."

Emmett and Rose both looked at her with wide eyes, and I was sure they'd be beet red in the face if it were at all possible. The rest of us were chuckling, both at Bella's boldness in saying the words and in the fact that it was common knowledge that she was right.

"And of course, that's not to mention your great enjoyment of being spanked by my lovely sister, Em," she said, snickering at his obvious horror. "Oh yeah, I heard that too. And seeing as how I'm the only one in the house without the aid of vampire hearing, I'm pretty sure everyone else has too!"

Emmett buried his head in his hands, muttering incoherently as we all chuckled.

"It's ok, big brother. To each his own, right?" She finished teasingly.

Bella apparently was not done, however.

"I don't think _you_ should be laughing up there, _cowboy_," she said to Jasper. "You know, that whole 'save a horse' line is a little overplayed. Perhaps you should work on some new material. And really, I am thanking god right now that I will no longer be sleeping in the room next to yours, because I'm not sure how many times I can listen to you say 'giddy-up' to Alice."

Emmett, no longer embarrassed, filled the car with his booming laughter, and we all joined in, even Jasper, who was good-natured enough to take Bella's ribbing.

I couldn't deny, however, that Bella standing up for herself and holding her own in a car full of vampires was a _huge_ turn on. I could feel my cock growing in my shorts, and began counting the minutes until we would arrive at our house.

"Seriously, Carlisle?" Jasper exclaimed, raising his eyebrows at me in the rearview mirror.

I growled playfully at him, but didn't respond. Instead, I turned to my right, where Bella was sitting, and found a better way to occupy my mouth.

"Bella, what on earth did you do with Carlisle Cullen?" Alice asked, laughing.

Bella pulled her mouth from mine for a moment. "Nothing at all, Alice...just taught him to enjoy his life." _That she did._ "Now, Jas, can't you drive any faster?"

The car was once again filled with our laughter, thanks to the out of character comment from Bella.

"Really, though, son, hurry up," I said before returning my lips to my lovely wife.

It was only about fifteen more minutes before we reached the house. Once there, I lifted Bella out of the car and carried her bridal-style all the way to our bedroom, where I laid her down in our bed and spent hours making sweet love to her.

When she had fallen asleep, I lay next to her, my arms wrapped around her and our legs intertwined, and thought about the day. We had been welcomed back with hugs, teasing, laughter, fun, and a Emmett/Alice prank. Yes, it was certainly good to be home.

**A/N: Well, what did you think? I hope you are still liking it - I noticed that the reviews dropped off a bit the last two chapters. A little bit of fun for our favorite family. Are you happy that the Cullens have been reunited? We have only a few more chapters of good times before a big surprise will be revealed (and no, it is not going to be that Bella is pregnant, and I am still not telling you whether she will be at some point or not), so enjoy it while you can. **

**Next up: A little bonding for Bella and Jasper as well as a very nice surprise from Bella for Carlisle.**


	9. 9 Crimson and Black Leather

**A/N: Hard as it is to believe, I am not Stephenie Meyer. I know, big shock, right? Thus I do not own Twilight or it's characters. I do, however, take a little credit for making Carlisle even sexier and Bella a little ballsy. ;)**

**So many of you read the last chapter and misunderstood my author's note at the end, so I just want to clarify a bit. There _is_**** a big surprise coming in chapter 12, but it will not be a pregnancy announcement. That is not to say that there will not be a baby in Bella's future (I'm still keeping this a secret, sorry), just that this particular surprise won't be that. There are several**** surprises that are coming in this story, I promise. But I highly doubt that any of you will see this one coming, and just wanted to get you a little excited for it. =)**

**This chapter is a bit of brother/sister bonding time, and a little lemony fun too (don't worry, not for Bella and Jasper together!).**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 9: Crimson and Black Leather

BPOV

We had been home for a few days, and had gotten settled back in to a routine. It was great to be back amongst my siblings. They had already started the term at Dartmouth - they were all set to graduate in the winter - so Carlisle and I had the mornings alone together, and then we spent our afternoons and evenings as a family before we all retired to our bedrooms for, uh, couple time. It seemed that everyone in the house was a big fan of couple time these days.

On our first Friday night home, I sat at the dining room table for hours with Jasper after dinner, pouring over maps of New England. My brother had begged me to get the Ducatis out and go for a long ride with him on Saturday. It had long been one of our favorite ways to spend time together, and we hadn't done it in quite a while, so I didn't need much convincing. I did, however, have to face a bit of harassment when his initial mention of the subject brought forth a huge wave of lust from me. In my defense, however, who wouldn't feel amorous when thinking of motorcycles after the last ride I had? I shivered just thinking about it.

We sat discussing possible options for where to ride, Jasper suggesting going into New York to ride through the Adirondacks, and I suggested that if we were going to New York, maybe we should make it an overnight trip to Utica to see the site where Woodstock was held. Jasper raised his eyebrow at this suggestion, and I giggled. With Alice's help and her promise of a cloudy day on the coast, we eventually decided to ride to Old Orchard Beach on the coast of Maine and back, taking a northern route there and a southern one on the return. Jasper promised to gas up the bikes and pack the necessary supplies while I slept, and we planned to leave right after breakfast.

I woke up in Carlisle's arms the next morning, and after spending several minutes kissing him, I got up for my human moments. When I finished, I went into my closet to dress, choosing a simple white long-sleeved tee shirt, a pair of boot cut jeans, and my black converse. I would put on my riding jacket when it was time to leave. Walking into the kitchen, I found that Carlisle had already made breakfast for me - scrambled eggs and turkey sausage, with some cut up melon on the side. _Yummy._

Alice and Jasper joined us in the dining room while I was eating and we all made casual conversation. Once I was finished, Carlisle went to the closet and came back in with my riding jacket, sliding it onto my arms from behind before wrapping his own arms around me. He brought his mouth down to my ear, running his tongue along the rim, and I leaned back into him.

Jasper shot us a look and then laughed, walking towards the front door ahead of us. "Sis, later. We are riding now."

Carlisle and I laughed, and a blush colored my cheeks.

"You look delicious in this jacket, you know," Carlisle whispered huskily into my ear. "How long will you be gone?"

"The trip itself is about five hours, plus we'll probably spend an hour at the beach for lunch," I replied.

"Maybe you could pick me up for a short ride when you get back, if you're not too tired," he said lowly as his hands reached up to cup my breasts.

My head fell back against his shoulder as I gasped.

"I think that can be arranged," I whispered.

"Bella!" Jasper yelled impatiently through the open door.

I groaned a little, but pulled myself away from my sexy husband, giving him one last kiss before I walked out the door and climbed onto my bike.

With one last wave, Jasper and I sped down our long driveway.

The ride to Old Orchard Beach was amazing. I always love the way it feels to be on my Ducati, the wind in my face and the feel of the engine's power below me. But this ride took us through such gorgeous scenery - early fall in New England is like an artist's canvas, with all the leaves already in their fall colors setting against the lush green of the grass and the blue of the skies. It was impossible not to appreciate the beauty of nature around me.

Jasper and I mostly rode side by side, but every so often one of us would toss a smirk at the other and lay on the throttle, shooting forward at a much faster speed for a minute of two before slowing back down. Really, Jasper was probably the only one who would ever let me do this without throwing a fit - at least while I'm still a human. But Jasper has seen me ride enough, and knows that I am in complete control of the bike, so he doesn't stress about it. I think he also enjoys sharing my feelings when I do it - vampires don't have adrenaline anymore, so he likes to share mine.

When we finally pulled up at the beach two and a half hours later, we were both laughing, having raced each other the last three miles. We parked the bikes and my brother untied the backpack from his back seat, throwing it over his shoulder and jogging to catch up with me as I walked onto the sand. The cool sea breeze felt so nice against my face, and I pulled the band out of my hair to let the ponytail fly free in the wind. The wind off the ocean was just strong enough to let my hair blow without making it whip around and smack me in the face incessantly.

Jasper, having quickly caught up with me, took my hand and led me down to a nice spot near the water on the relatively empty beach. It was late in the season, combined with the cloudy day, so we had a pretty private area to ourselves. Jasper laid a blanket on the sand and gestured for me to sit. We made ourselves comfortable, and he pulled a sandwich, an apple, and a bottle of water from his backpack, handing it to me.

We chatted while I enjoyed my lunch. He filled me in on all that had happened while Carlisle and I were off on our honeymoon (which really wasn't much - the biggest news was about Emmett literally pulverizing into dust our Wii system after losing his eleventh straight tennis match to Jasper). He also told me about school - Jasper had chosen to study psychology at Dartmouth, which I thought was a perfect fit for him. He was really enjoying his seminars this semester, one focusing on human's search for meaning in the world, and the other on non-verbal aspects of social interaction. He was telling me all about what he had learned so far, and I had to admit, it really was quite interesting. Perhaps in the future I'd take some psychology classes as well...

When I'd finished eating, we left the bag and blanket and our shoes, and made our way down to where the water lapped at the shore, rolling up our pants so that we could walk with our feet in the water.

"You know, sis, I feel what you feel, and I can't even begin to tell you how refreshing it is. I've never felt so much peace and contentment from you."

"I'm sure you haven't. I don't remember ever being so happy."

"So I guess that means you had a good honeymoon, huh?" He asked in a light, teasing tone.

"That would be quite the understatement," I said, grinning.

Jasper slipped his arm around my shoulder to give me a hug. "The happiness, it's coming from you and Carlisle both. It's so pure. It's beautiful, really. I'm so happy for you both."

"Thanks, big brother. That's very sweet of you. And we have you to thank for helping us get here."

"No problem, sis. The lust, on the other hand... Well, let's just say it's a bit overwhelming at times. The two of you are affecting me constantly... Alice will probably be buying you a very large gift in thanks for your birthday," he said, chuckling.

I joined him in his laughter. Once upon a time this conversation would have embarrassed me to death, but I guess after the other day in the car, my threshold for blushing is increasing. I'll be glad when I'm a vampire and can't blush at all.

My eyes were focused on the ground as we walked on, watching for any obstacles, when a flash of color caught my eye and I suddenly felt myself falling. Everything went into slow motion for a moment as I hit the ground and realized what was happening. A little ways up the beach, a man was throwing a frisbee with his dog. It seemed that his most recent throw had gone astray in the wind, and was about to hit me in the head, so Jasper had pushed me out of it's path, causing me to fall. Then I noticed the searing pain in my hand - I had landed with my palm down on a pointed seashell. I looked down, and saw the crimson blood flowing from my hand, and for just a moment, my heart stopped beating.

I looked up into the eyes of my brother, trying not to feel afraid, as I knew that would only make matters worse. His eyes were surely a darker shade than they had been earlier, and I could tell he was not breathing. He seemed to be under control, though. For both of our sakes, I hoped so.

He dropped down onto his knees beside me, and took my bleeding hand in his own, examining it. I focused on the fact that he was my brother and I loved him and trusted him with my life, knowing that he'd feel it. He dropped my hand, and then took a handful of his own tee shirt in his fist, ripping it away from the rest. Then he used that fabric as a bandage to tie up my hand, making sure to make it tight to put pressure on the bleeding.

I looked at him with wide eyes as he finished, and focused on my pride in him. I had known for quite a while now that his control had significantly improved, but this was a major achievement for him, and we both knew it.

"Jas? Do you need to get away for a minute? It's ok."

He nodded, and stood, walking quickly towards our blanket and sitting there. I followed him at a much slower pace, giving him time to collect himself.

When I reached the blanket, I sat down beside him.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," he said.

"Jasper, don't be sorry. I know you didn't mean for me to get hurt, you were trying to prevent it actually. But Jas, I'm so very proud of you! You were not only around my fresh blood, but you took care of me. That was amazing, big brother. You are amazing!" I replied with complete sincerity.

I could see in his eyes, even though he was trying not to show it, that he was immensely pleased by my praising him. He had for so long been considered the wink link in the family, but he had really shown his strength just now.

"I never could have done it without you, Bells," he said.

"What do you mean, Jas?"

"Ever since your birthday all those years ago, when I nearly killed you, I realized that I had to change. I loved you as a sister, even back then, and I had such weak control over myself that I could have hurt you. I worked so hard, spending more time around humans than I ever had before, always with Emmett nearby to help me and support me. Carlisle used to bring me home bags of donated blood to expose myself to. It was torturous, really, but I finally got to the point that I could stand it.

That all happened while we were in Ithaca. Then we came back to Forks, and everything happened with Victoria and the newborns. When Esme and Edward died, there was a moment when I wanted to die too, just to escape the pain. But the longer I thought it over, the more I understood what I had to do. Esme and Edward loved you so much, Bells - I felt all their love for you, I knew how strong it was. When they died to save you, I knew that the only way to honor them and to show them my love was to protect you too.

I knew even when we came back to Forks that I could deal with your blood if I had to, but it was after the battle when your blood completely lost all meaning to me. I've barely noticed your scent since, because I put it into my head that you are family, not food."

"That's incredible, Jas."

"It was all about you, Bella. You were my motivation. I had always wanted to be stronger for Alice and the family, but you were the first human I ever cared about, and you gave me the push I needed to overcome the past. So I have to say thank you, Bells. Thank you for forgiving me back then, and thank you for trusting me today. I love you, little sister."

"And I love you too, big brother," I replied, hugging him fiercely. "Now what do you say we get out of here and start riding back to Hanover? If Alice Saw this happen, she's probably having a panic attack about your current fashion statement."

He looked down at his mutilated shirt and laughed in agreement, quickly packing the backpack before leading me back up the beach to the bikes. We put on our helmets and started up our bikes, driving south along highway one, right along the beach for about forty miles. Once we turned on the 101, our ride was back to the more traditional New England fall scenery, and it was just as beautiful on the southern route as it had been this morning further north.

As we drove, I thought about all that Jasper had said to me. I knew that as much as he thought he owed me, I owed him just as much for being there for me emotionally through so much, and for helping Carlisle and I find our way to each other. I still wonder, if it hadn't been for Jasper, if we'd still be skating around each other now instead of enjoying married life together.

It took us about two and a half hours to get back to the house, and we found Alice and Carlisle waiting for us outside. As soon as we turned off the bike, Alice ran to Jasper and jumped into his arms, giving him a whole body hug.

"I'm so proud of you, Jazzy!" she cried.

"As am I, son. And thank you, for helping my wife."

Jasper looked down at the ground, seeming a bit embarrassed by all the praise, and I just barely heard him mumble "It was nothing."

Alice slid down and out of Jasper's arms, handed him a new tee shirt, and turned to me. "Oh Bella, you got blood on your shirt! Come on, let's get you changed before we go out again!"

She grabbed me by my uninjured hand and dragged me in the house and into my bedroom. Once we were there, she started searching through my dresser, and then, after crying "Aha!", turned and handed some fabric to me. It took me a second to realize what she had given me. It was the leather bustier and thong set that was one of her gifts at my bridal shower. _Oh my god._

"Alice?" I said skeptically.

"Just wear it, Bella. Trust me on this," she said, flashing me her evil little all-knowing pixie grin.

I rolled my eyes for a moment, feeling a bit odd about putting on lingerie before going out to ride my motorcycle with my husband, brother and sister, but did it anyways. Once it was on, I slipped my jeans and riding jacket back on over it, and walked back outside to where they were all waiting on me.

Swinging my leg over the Ducati, I turned to Carlisle. "You coming, honey?"

He climbed on behind me and leaned in to whisper in my ear. "With you in that jacket, I am sure I will be," he answered.

I shivered in response to his double entendre, my leather thong suddenly quite wet.

I started up the bike and drove out of the driveway, Jasper and Alice following on Jasper's bike just behind us. We had planned on a one hour circle, going south along the Vermont border for about twenty minutes before taking a side road east for another twenty, and then turning northwest back to Hanover again. We made it to the side road before I felt the evidence of Carlisle's arousal pressing against the back of my jeans. He slid his hands up from my waist to the zipper on my riding jacket, and slowly slid it down. I was concentrating hard on the road now, trying to keep my eyes open as my desire increased dramatically, remembering how our last ride ended.

When he had my jacket open, his hands slipped inside in search of my breasts, but instead he found the leather of my bustier. I heard his growl come from deep in his chest, telling me just how turned on his discovery had made him.

Suddenly, we were hit by a wave of annoyance, followed by one of calm. _Damn you, Jasper._

Jasper's aide lasted for a few minutes, but I suppose Carlisle's vampire memory was not allowing him to forget what he had so recently discovered under my jacket. Five miles later, he pressed his hips into me once again, and I moaned into the wind. He reached his hands up and signaled to me that I should pull over. I did, and Jasper soon pulled up beside me.

We took off our helmets, and I laughed as I saw Jasper raise his eyebrows at Carlisle and then shake his head disapprovingly. Alice was giggling from the back of his bike.

"How much longer until we get home?" Carlisle asked.

"About thirty minutes or a bit more, I'd say," replied Jasper.

"Nope, too long," Carlisle muttered. "Son, why don't you and Alice ride on ahead? There's some lovely scenery nearby that I'd really like to show Bella before we go home."

Alice and I both snickered - he was not fooling either of us, and I seriously doubted that Jasper was oblivious either.

"Ok, _Dad_," Alice replied, winking at me. "We'll see you at the house."

She and Jasper slid their helmets back on and drove away quickly, Jasper no longer caring so much about the speed limit since I wasn't riding with him. As for my husband, he was busy running his tongue over the skin of my neck.

"You are such a naughty girl, Isabella Cullen, dressing like this to tempt me," he whispered huskily against my flesh. "See those trees up ahead? Park the bike in there."

I knew exactly what he was planning, and I was not going to argue one bit. I pulled the bike forward as per his instructions, and then climbed off. Carlisle picked me up bridal-style and ran into the trees. He ran for less than a minute before we found a small grassy clearing, and then he gently set me down. He sat down on the grass and looked up at me greedily.

"Take off your jacket, Isabella," he said, his voice very low. "And your jeans. I want to see what you have on."

Very slowly and deliberately, I did as he asked. _Might as well give him a show._

He growled deeply once I was down to the bustier and thong. "Oh my...Fucking hell, Bella."

"You like it, honey?" I asked, innocence coloring my voice.

"I am fairly certain that I have never been so hard in my entire existence, baby. Get over here."

I walked over to him, slowly, wanting him to enjoy the view. I was loving what I was doing to him. When I reached a spot about a foot in front of him, I asked him to stand. He did, immediately, and I began to undress him, slowly, kissing and licking every bit of skin as I exposed it. He moaned and breathed heavily as I rendered him completely naked. Then I stepped back, looking over his body, licking my lips hungrily at his perfect form - he was not kidding about the hardness - his erection stood tall and proud for me.

He wasted no time then, taking one quick step toward me and attacking my lips with his own, pushing his tongue into my mouth and exploring it thoroughly. The kiss was hard and passionate, both of us desperate for more. My hands wound into his hair while his hands traveled up and down my back from my head down to my ass and back up.

We kissed like that for a moment before his hands slipped down to my hips and took the sides of my thong between his fingers, pushing it down over the curve of my hips and then letting it fall to the ground from there.

Then he broke away from my lips and dropped down onto his knees. I inhaled sharply with desire when I looked down and saw him there, and moaned loudly as his face reached my slip and he licked up the slit and flicked my clit.

"Mmmmmm... baby, you taste so good..."

"Oooohhh, Carlisle....god....so good...."

He proceeded to devour me until I came, moaning his name the entire time. I came so hard that he had to catch me as my knees gave out and I collapsed toward the ground.

I looked up at him, laughing lightly at the grin on his face, before kissing him fiercely, groaning at the taste of myself on his lips.

"I need you, honey... I want you inside me," I said huskily.

He leaned backwards until he was lying flat on his back, and pulled me up a little so that I was straddling his hips.

"Ride me, Bella, just like you do that bike. I want to watch you moving over me in your sexy leather top, making both of us feel so good," he said, his voice thick with desire.

His words tightened the coil in my stomach, increasing my desire for him a hundred fold. I reached down in between my legs, finding his cock and guiding it into my wet sex. We both groaned at the intrusion, my head falling back in pleasure as he filled me. I worked myself up and down his length, my hands exploring his chest as I did. His hands were on my ass, squeezing the cheeks in his hands with each downward thrust I made.

"Fuck Bella...you look so damn sexy... You feel so good... uuuggghhhh..."

"Carlisle...ooohhhh...you feel...so good...inside me...I love it...when... you fill me up."

I kept moving on him, the feeling becoming so intense that we were both reduced to grunting and moaning as we neared our climaxes.

"Mmmmmm...baby....uuuggghhhh...gonna cum....hell...aaaahhhh..."

"Uuuggghhhh...Carlisle...me too....ooooohhhh....

His hand came to my clit them, and gave it a light pinch, pushing me right over the edge. I came hard, screaming his name into the woods as I collapsed on his chest. I felt his cool venom shooting into me as I clenched around him, the roar he made as he came primal sounding, but so sexy.

I laid there, panting against his chest for several minutes while I waited for my breathing to regulate. He was panting as well, and held me close against him, kissing the shoulder that was closest to his face.

Several minutes later, we were calmed enough to get up and get dressed, and then we walked back up the hill to the Ducati. As I slid my right leg over the bike, he gave me one more lusty grin.

"Really, Bella, it should be illegal to look as tempting as you do today. It is absolutely impossible for me to control myself with you dressed like that."

I smiled, tapping the side of my head. "I'll file that information away for later," I said, smirking.

"You are a dangerous creature, Isabella Cullen. A very dangerous creature indeed."

He climbed onto the bike behind me, then, and we sped off toward home.

_Motorcycles are the best invention ever._

**A/N: I believe it's time for a cold shower, don't you? I told you that the bridal shower gifts would be making appearances, hope you enjoyed that one as much as Carlisle did. That man certainly has a thing for Bella in leather. LOL **

**What did you think of Bella and Jasper's bonding?**

**Next up: Girl time and a manly hunting trip... I can only imagine the conversations ahead!**


	10. author's note, so sorry

**A/N: Please accept my apologies for the late update. My laptop battery has apparently died, and even plugged in, the computer will not turn on. I have the next chapter written, saved in the laptop, and have no way to post it now. I am driving up to the apple store in the morning to get a new battery or power cord, whichever is needed, and I promise to post the update as soon as I get home. Thanks for your patience!**


	11. 10 Boys Will Be Boys

**A/N: Stephenie Meyer is the proud owner of all things Twilight. I'm not sure she'd approve of what I've done to it, but as long as my readers are happy, so am I. **

**It's time for the family to spend some quality time bonding... the girls and the guys separately, and the chapter got so long as I wrote it that I am posting it as two chapters.**

Chapter 10: Boys will be Boys

CPOV

Very early Sunday morning, I was lying in bed with my wife, holding her while she slept and lost in my own thoughts, when I heard what sounded like the four remaining members of our family approach our bedroom door. _What on earth could they want this early in the morning?_ They were obviously not concerned about waking Bella, as they proceeded to knock loudly on the door.

"Carlisle! We know you're in there! Cover up Bells and let us in!" Emmett boomed.

I shook my head, and then chuckled softly as Bella looked up at me through half-closed lids, quite obviously still halfway asleep.

"I'm sorry, my love," I said softly, arranging myself into a sitting position and pulling her up with me, "but your siblings have seen fit to wake you at four o'clock this morning."

She groaned, but opened her eyes. "Come in," she mumbled sleepily.

The door opened and the four vampires came traipsing in, Alice and Emmett leading the group with gleeful expressions, Rosalie and Jasper a few steps behind them, also looking quite happy, but slightly more restrained. I wondered what was going on.

"Ok, listen up Dad," Emmett began. "You two have been hogging each other for weeks now, and it's about time you shared."

"Alright," I said. "What do you have in mind, Emmett, that required you to wake Bella up so early?"

"Actually, that's my fault," Alice interrupted. "Rose and Bella and I are leaving for New York City in three hours, and I needed her to get up and get ready so we can make it to the airport on time." She grinned widely at Bella, as did Rosalie. Bella was still trying to fully awaken, but I could tell that she, too, was excited.

"And you are coming with us to the Adirondack Forest for some manly hunting," Emmett said. "I'm in the mood for some black bear."

"Don't forget the coyote, man...those buggers are tasty," Jasper added, licking his lips expectantly.

The Adirondacks did make for excellent feeding, and I had to admit that I looked forward to spending some time with the boys, so I quickly agreed to go. I took a few moments to say goodbye to Bella and wish the girls and pleasant trip before jumping into the front seat of Emmett's Jeep.

We chatted amiably amongst ourselves as we drove to the park, discussing the upcoming graduation of all of the "kids", and Bella's and my suggestion for how we act as siblings in the future rather than a father and his adopted high school aged children. Both of the boys seemed thrilled with this idea, making me feel a tinge of guilt for having asked them to play these roles for so many years already.

"Hey, Carlisle, don't feel guilty," Jasper said, obviously feeling my emotions. "We may not have enjoyed high school after the...first...time, but it worked for our family. And our family has always been what's important to us, don't doubt that. Believe me when I say that I'd rather go to high school with my brothers and sisters a hundred times than spend another minute of my existence living alone as a nomad or back in Maria's hellhole."

Jasper spoke with such sincerity that there was no questioning him. And truly, I understood his words. I, too, had spent so many years alone before I found Edward and began my family... I could not imagine ever being without them now.

We reached the park after a couple of hours driving, and made our way to a nice spot deep in the forest. It had been several days since we'd hunted, so we decided to separate initially, and then meet back at our chosen location in two hours. We planned to stay overnight, as the boys did not have any Monday classes and therefore had no need to rush back to Hanover, so there was plenty of time for joint activities after this initial hunt.

Running at top speed off into the woods, relishing the feeling of the wind against my flesh and rushing through my hair, and the simple freedom of the action itself. As I ran, I kept my nose open for an appetizing scent. I picked up on the first one about ten minutes into my run - a moose. Moose were a fairly nice snack, but I knew that they had just been re-introduced to the area and were not yet populous, so I moved on. It only took a few more minutes before I caught the scent of a white-tailed deer. I slowed my run to a brisk human pace, still silent, and followed the trail of the deer. It didn't take long for me to come to the herd - there were five of them there, their jugular veins pumping steadily in their throats as they remained oblivious to my presence. I could easily take them all down, but knew that I didn't need so much at once. Examining the herd, I saw two together who seemed slightly older than the rest, and chose to attack them, since they were not as strong as the others. I crouched low, and waited for a moment before springing, spreading my arms out wide to take the two out at once. They both fell immediately, the strength of my blow crushing their spines instantly. I sat down between them, then, and proceeded to drink from one first, then the other, feeling the warmth of their blood as it spread through my body.

I checked my watch, and saw that I still had an hour before meeting the boys, so I got up and started running to the west in search of another pleasant scent. It wasn't long before I found one - a black bear. While I may not be as big a fan of bears as Emmett, I must admit that this one smelled rather delicious. I stalked it for two miles, creeping behind it carefully so as not to make any noise that would frighten it - unlike Emmett, I prefer not to play with my food before consuming it. I finally got close enough to make my pounce, and took down the bear in one fell swoop. Latching on to his jugular, I quickly drained him, his blood invigorating me as it flowed down my throat.

I cleaned my mess, and then started back toward the meeting place. As I ran, I pondered the fact that my stomach was not sloshing around as I had expected it to after having drank so much. I must be depleting myself much more than I realized in the frequent escapades with my lovely wife. _I'll have to tone it down a little....or I could just hunt more often._

I reached the meeting place - it was a large, relatively flat rock top to a hill that overlooked the green hills and a flowing river of the Adirondack preserve. The view was breathtaking, and it made me wish Bella was with me to see it. I sat to wait for the boys, but didn't have to wait long, as they arrived only a few moments after I had. They sat near me, the three of us forming a sort of circle, all of us lounging back on our hands to take in the warmth of the sun.

We sat for awhile, just chatting about random topics - Emmett was giving us his opinion on the latest video game that we had acquired, which happened to be a racing game.

"Hey Em," Jasper began. "You might want to keep Carlisle here away from _that_ game!"

"Why?" Emmett asked.

"Because it seems that motorcycles give good old dad quite the hard on," Jasper replied, laughing.

_Damn. I knew I'd never live that one down._

It took a moment for Emmett to calm himself from his raucous laughter, but once he did, his comment surprised me.

"Oh, come on, Jazz, you've spent more time riding with Bella than anyone. She may be our sister, but tell me that girl isn't hot as hell on her bike."

I had to stifle a growl, my possessive vampire nature nearly overcoming me in that moment. I understood what Emmett meant, and I sure as hell agreed with him, for that matter, but I knew that he was not competition for me. Emmett loved my life deeply, but in a very fraternal fashion.

"Carlisle, man... You've got to tell us what it's like." Emmett said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, rather hoping that his answer was not what I expected it to be.

"Sex with a human. What's it like?"

"Emmett!" I cried, appalled. "I am not giving you details about sex with my _wife_!"

"Shit, Dad! We don't want actual details... She's our sister for god's sake! Just tell us in general," Jasper exclaimed.

I thought about it for a moment. I didn't want to embarrass Bella, but I figured I could answer their question without giving any private details. And I knew, in my mind, that if one of them had been the one to marry a human, I'd probably be brimming with curiosity about the same topic. Odd, I'd never once considered sex with a human in all my existence until Bella...

"Alright," I agreed begrudgingly. "What do you want to know?"

"Is it difficult?" Jasper asked. "I mean, to deal with your strength, and the bloodlust, and the intensity of your own feelings all at the same time?"

"It's not too difficult, really," I replied. "But I'll admit that, especially when I was drinking the thermoses of blood instead of actually hunting, I did have to fight the urge to bite down on her when I came...not for want of blood, just on instinct. That's really been the only part that was a challenge - the strength issues I'd already dealt with before we made love."

"What's it _feel_ like, inside?" Emmett asked, a strong curiosity evident in his eyes.

"Hot," I replied. "You know how your body warms when you drink?" I asked, receiving a nod of the head from both boys. "It's similar to that feeling, but wrapped around your cock, and hotter. Maybe like using an electric blanket to get yourself off..." I wondered at my own thoughts - _how did I come up with such a comparison?_ "And god, the heat feels good..."

I suddenly realized that this discussion was quickly leading me down a path I didn't need to take at this moment. Already I could feel my shorts becoming tighter, and I shifted slightly, trying to make myself more comfortable. How long did I have before Jasper called me on it?

As I looked up at my son, I knew exactly why he had not said anything yet - Jasper looked as uneasy as I did, no doubt his empathy was making it even worse for him. Chancing a glance at Emmett, I saw a strangely thoughtful look on his face, as well as a glimmer in his eye that we usually only see when Rosalie is around. Looking back at Jasper, I saw that he was cringing and gripping the rock underneath him so tightly that tiny particles of dust were falling through his fingers.

Knowing we were treading a fine line, I knew I had to be the strong one now. "Come on, boys, I think it's about time we found some dinner. Let's meet back here in about an hour, alright?"

Both of them jumped up quickly and sprinted off in opposite directions, and I wasted no time leaving to find my own meal.

An hour and three white-tailed deer later, I returned to the rock. I was just in time to catch Emmett excitedly telling Jasper about the black bear he had just drained - it sounded like it had been quite the battle for dinner. I smiled and shook my head good-naturedly. We all knew how much Emmett preferred to fight his bears before taking them down - over seventy years had passed since I changed him, and he was still not over the one battle with a bear he ever lost.

We all laughed over Emmett's story, and then listened as Jasper told us of the pair of coyotes he had just caught, licking his lips as he remembered their taste. They both laughed and teased me when I told them I had sated myself with a few deer. Neither of them have much of a taste for the animal, really, and always tell me that it is "girl's food". I took their teasing wiht a smile, though, glad to have this time with my sons.

"So, Carlisle... Were you really serious about the new plan for Bella's re-entry into society after her newborn days? You're really going to quit being our dad?" Emmett asked.

I could hear sadness in his voice, and to speak candidly, I'd have to admit that it warmed my dead heart. It seemed that he was upset at the idea of my not being his father.

"It was Bella's suggestion that we all play the role of siblings rather than a father and his adopted children, so that you four don't have to keep repeating high school. She thought that you would all prefer that."

"I won't lie - getting out of high school has got to be the best plan ever. But as good as it sounds, I'm not sure about it. I mean, you've been my father for over seventy years, and now you'll be my brother?"

I smiled, I'm sure much more than I meant to. It couldn't be helped, though, not when I was hearing from Emmett that he really thought of me that way, just as I thought of him as my son.

"Son," I said. "It is only our roles outside that will change. Our lives, and our family, will not."

Emmett grinned at me, and I smiled warmly back. Then I felt Jasper's hand on my arm.

"We must not say it enough," he said, "Or you wouldn't be so surprised. You're not my father, or even my sire, Carlisle. That's true. But you've been the man who was there to guide and support me, you've taught me how to be better, and I've had nothing but respect for you in all the time we've been together. You're as much my dad as anyone ever could be."

I wrapped my arms around the vampires on either side of me, elated by the words, and by their love. This was what Aro had never understood. He thought that I was the leader of a coven, but I was not. I was the head of a family. And that was a million times more fulfilling.

"So, we're going to pretend to be brothers, then?" Emmett asked again, clarifying.

"Yes, that's right," I answered.

Jasper and Emmett shared a conspiratorial glance, and I suddenly felt worried. I took two steps back from them.

"I don't know about you, Em, but I think Carlisle here needs some instruction in how to be a brother," Jasper said.

"Oh, I completely agree, Jazz," Emmett said gleefully, just before he flew into the air.

A moment later, the sound of thunder filled the air. But there was no storm - the noise had come from my stone body being pounced upon by my two new "brothers".

About twenty minutes of wrestling later, the three of us lay side by side on the rocks, looking up at the stars, panting and laughing. For a moment, I wondered what Bella was doing. I hoped she was having as good a time with her sisters as I was with the boys. I cannot deny how much I love spending every moment with my wife, but now I realized that I would definitely need not to forget to make time for male bonding from now on.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that. Bella and the girls are up next. **


	12. 11 Girl Talk

**A/N: Thanks to Stephenie Meyer, who created these characters. I do so enjoy having my way with them.**

**Thanks for all your reviews on the last chapter, as well as your patience in waiting for it. I want to show you my gratefulness by offering a small token. This chapter is the girls' bonding time, and the next chapter reveals the first big surprise of the story. Anyone who sends me a review for this chapter will get as their thank you note a small preview of chapter 12, which I plan to post on Monday. Sound good?**

Chapter 11: Girls Talk

BPOV

When my siblings woke me up this morning, I admit I was slightly annoyed. It was four a.m. after all, and thanks to my husband, I had gone to sleep quite late. However, as soon as Alice mentioned that we girls were going to New York City, I perked up. I know, I know, it doesn't sound very Bella-like to be excited about a day that was sure to involve shopping, but I was thrilled with the idea of having some time with just my sisters - it had been far too long!

So I got up, showered, put on the outfit that Alice had provided (a silky blue and purple flowered camisole with a short - sleeved purple cardigan over it and a pair of dark wash skinny jeans), and went into the dining room to eat the snack that Rosalie prepared while Alice fussed over my hair, pulling it back into a French braid to the nape of my neck, where she secured it, letting my hair fall from it in loose waves down my back.

Carlisle and my brothers came in to say goodbye while I was eating before they left for the forest in New York where they would be hunting. We left shortly afterwards in Rosalie's BMW, quite surprisingly without any luggage. I was just about to ask when Alice answered my question.

"We're going to spend the day shopping, Bella, so we can buy anything we might need!" My pixie of a sister said gleefully. It had been months since we shopped together, and really, even I was excited, so I needn't ruin her fun by complaining.

My sisters were kind enough to let me sleep on the drive to Boston as well as the flight to New York. I suppose they knew I would need the energy and didn't want me to waste valuable shopping time later with a nap. Once we arrived at JFK, however, my reprieve was over and full enthusiasm was required. Luckily I had it to spare.

Since we had no luggage to drop off, Alice directed our taxi to our first stop, which was Barney's, and then proceeded to lead Rosalie and I by the hands directly to the shoe department. She was bouncing with excitement as she flew through the displays, gathering everything that she thought we should try on. Really, if I hadn't known better, I probably would have suspected that she was on speed. Even without Jasper's power, though, by the time she sat down with us to try the shoes on, her excitement was rubbing off on both Rosalie and I. At the end of our first hour of shopping, we had, between the three of us, eleven pair of Monolo Blahniks, five pair of Christian Louboutins, and four pair of Pradas. It was obviously too much to carry, so Alice had them sent to our hotel, and dragged us off to the next stop.

We made our way down the street to Bloomingdales and walked directly into the dress department. Once again, our little shopping pixie breezed through the department, grabbing armfuls of items for us to try. I noticed several fancier dresses and raised my eyebrows, but she told me I needed one for tonight, though she wouldn't say why. From dresses, we made our way to jeans and pants and tops - everyday clothes, in other words - and picked out plenty. It seemed Alice was on a mission to replace our wardrobes to get ready for fall. _I should have known!_

What I couldn't understand, however, is why I needed all these new clothes. I mean, Carlisle was going to bite me soon - that's what we had promised Aro when he visited - so would I really need all these nice outfits while I was a newborn vampire? I was sure that Alice would say yes, so I didn't bother to ask.

Once our wardrobes were replenished, we made our way to the lingerie department.

"Alice, you and all the girls just gave me so much lingerie before the wedding. I don't really need more now, do I?" I asked.

"Bella, Bella, Bella," Rosalie said, sounding disappointed in me. "A woman, especially a married woman such as yourself, can never have too much lingerie!"

"Really, Bella. I expected that by now you would understand these things," Alice added, sounding exasperated. "Do you think Carlisle wants to see you wearing the same things every night?"

"Actually, I am pretty sure he wouldn't mind if I wore nothing at all..." I mumbled, knowing that my sister's vampire ears could pick up my words.

They did, and both began giggling.

"That may in fact be true, little sis," said Rosalie through her laughter, "But you should still make an effort. Believe me, it's worth it!"

I knew she was right, not to mention there was no point ever arguing with Alice about shopping, so I walked into the dressing room and awaited my pile from Alice. Five minutes later, the pixie arrived laden with lingerie for all three of us. As I went to try on the first bra, I noticed that Alice had gotten a cup size larger than I usually wore.

"Alice?" I called.

"Just try it on, Bella," she replied to my unasked question.

I did, and found that it was a perfect fit. _Hmmm... This brand must run smaller than the ones I usually wear._

As I made my way through the pile, I realized that it was not the brand after all - _all_ of the bras that fit were the same size as the first. I wondered for a moment if having ridiculous amounts of sex had so overflowed my body with hormones that it caused my breasts to grow... It was an interesting theory, at any rate.

We left Bloomingdales an hour later, our bags sent ahead to the hotel once again, and our credit card bills significantly higher. We walked down the street to a cute restaurant called Serendipity 3 for lunch, and that's what the girls attacked.

"Okay, Bella, we gave you quite the reprieve. But I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong Alice, that the time has come for little sister here to spill."

"Oh, you are absolutely correct, Rose," Alice agreed.

My face flushed momentarily, but then I regained my composure and grinned at them, deciding to play along.

"Whatever are you talking about, dear sisters? Of course you know I would keep nothing from you intentionally," I said, my voice projecting pure innocence.

"Oh sure," Rose said sarcastically. "Now let's get on with it, sis. We want DETAILS. Honeymoon, details, to be specific."

"But Rose, didn't my lovely sister Alice already share all of those with you?" I asked sweetly.

Alice had the decency to look at least somewhat ashamed, but I knew it was not sincere, nor did I expect it to be. Every member of my family was well aware of the complete lack of privacy in our home, even with Edward gone. With all the super hearing and Alice and Jasper's abilities. Not to mention Carlisle and I had had a bit of difficulty with propriety lately - we could hardly keep our hands off of each other, whether anyone was nearby or not. I blushed again at the thought, a shiver running up my spine as I remembered the way his cold hands felt running over my skin.

"Bella! Snap out of it!" Alice demanded, obviously noticing my eyes glazing over. "And get talking!"

"Alright, alright... Sorry, I can't help it that I married a bona fide sex god!" That comment got us all giggling. Once I settled, I gave my sisters both a serious look. "Really, guys, this doesn't bother you at all? Talking about Carlisle like this?" I asked sincerely.

"Bella, we've lived with the man for decades... And he's lived with us. You know what that entails. Whether we think of him as a father figure of not, we know that he has sex. And hell, Bella, ever since you two got together, it's been increasingly difficult to be aware of anything else!" Rosalie explained this, and left all of us laughing again.

"Hey, like I said... Sex god."

"Yes, we know, we know. Oh my Carlisle and all that," Alice said with a chuckle. "So obviously, the man is quite good at what he does?"

My eyes rolled back in my head for a second as I considered the question. "Oh, Alice...Good is really not a strong enough word! I think he may in fact be a genius... Not to mention the creativity - I swear, as many times as there have been, it's never once been the same!"

My sisters, had they been in possession of working tear ducts, would have been crying quite hard by now, with as hard as they were laughing. Both of them had buried their faces in their arms on the table so as not to irritate the diners at the tables around us.

The banter kept up between the three of us all through lunch, and I am proud to admit that the only time I blushed was when the waitress appeared in the middle of my story about the ridiculously fantastic sex that Carlisle and I had in the rain forest that caused such a stir with the parrot population of the island. Rosalie and Alice both added a few stories of their own as well. It was such a fun lunch, just us girls, chatting about our boys.

After lunch, we took a taxi to some specialty lingerie stores that Rosalie insisted we visit. The first was Agent Provocateur, wherein we all chose some very sexy bra and panty combinations, including one that I was very excited to wear - the bra was white chantilly lace with some fuschia and white detailing, and the panties were a cheeky white satin bikini with a heart cut out over the butt, filled in with chantilly lace. I was sure that Carlisle would love them. From there we walked over to La Perla, again filling several shopping bags, and our final stop of the lingerie shopping spree was La Petite Coquette. All three of us picked up a ton of new bras and panties, as well as pajamas and more interesting bedroom attire, constantly comparing and teasing each other as we shopped.

When we were (finally) done shopping, we took a taxi back to our hotel. _Wow._ As usual, Alice had overshot my expectations. We were staying at the W Hotel in Times Square. Our suite, which was amazing in its every detail down to the electric blue accents, overlooked Times Square and the theater district. It was nothing short of incredible. We found our numerous shopping bags already waiting for us in the sitting room, and Alice immediately found all the necessities for our night out.

After an hour and a half of very girly primping, including all things hair, makeup, and nails, in front of a mirror big enough for all three of us to share, we were finally ready. Alice was wearing a pleated gold silk fitted dress that fell just above her knees, Rosalie was wearing her signature red, this time in a ruffled one shoulder design that landed in a fuller skirt at mid-thigh. I was in a midnight blue silk dress with an elaborate gold design, ruffled bubble hem and a neckline that showed off my suddenly larger breasts quite well.

We took the elevator to the ground floor to have dinner at the Blue Fin restaurant. I was halfway through my meal when Alice finally let me in on the secret of our night out - the three of us were going to see The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway! Obviously Alice had not forgotten the love of the theatre I had picked up while we were in England. I was so excited by the news that I could hardly sit still to finish my meal!

The show was as amazing as I ever could have imagined, and we walked back to the W in high spirits, the three of us singing _All I Ask of You_ in harmony, earning more than a few stares from passersby.

Back in our suite, we each changed into a pair of our new pajamas, and by the time I had returned to the living room, I saw that Alice had procured a bottle of champagne and a tray of different deserts from room service. Really, I was already a bit tired, but this was a special occasion - a night out in the city with my sisters - and I was determined to stay up as long as possible to enjoy it.

The three of us, after I had been sufficiently liquored up, at any rate, had quite the slumber party. Usually, a slumber party would entail some manicure/pedicure and hair style activities, but we had done all that before going to the show. So that left the one other essential ingredient - girl talk! We played a hilarious game of I Have Never, which I, of course, having lived approximately eighty years less than my sisters, found myself at a distinct disadvantage. Following that, Rosalie insisted that we share our fantasies with each other. In all honesty, I was shocked that either of them had a fantasy that had not yet been acted out. I mean, they had both been married for decades, and it was no secret that Rosalie and Emmett had quite the wild sexual history.

"Is there really anything you haven't tried yet?" I asked, incredulously.

"Of course! There's plenty we haven't tried...plenty I don't even want to try, for that matter." Rosalie defended.

"Well then, what's your fantasy?" Alice asked.

"I'd like to have Emmett take me across the hood of a Bugatti Veyron."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Only the most exquisite, incredible car on the face of the earth! It's about two million dollars to get one, but it's the fastest roadster available, and it is absolutely gorgeous..." Rosalie said, speaking wistfully about the automobile.

I laughed a little - Rose was probably the only woman I would ever know who could have sexual fantasies about a car.

"Alright, pixie, you're next," I said.

"Well, my original fantasy was to be with Jasper in the dressing rooms of all the major high fashion stores - Prada, Chanel, Gucci, etc... But we've already finished that one," she added, giggling. "So I suppose my new one would be the middle of the runway at New York's fashion week."

"While the show was going on??" I asked, incredulously.

"God, no! We'd do it at night or early morning before anyone was around, silly. I'm not a porn star you know."

We all laughed at that one, Alice always teasingly called us porn stars since we had all starred in several x-rated shows of our own in Alice's visions.

"Ok, little sis," Rosalie commanded, looking at me. "You're up."

"That's an easy one. Ever since my bridal shower, I've known the answer to this one. That nurse costume that Tanya gave me? I want to show up in Carlisle's office wearing only that and let him have his way with me." Just the thought of it, as usual, sent waves of desire through me.

"Role playing is definitely a good one," Alice said dreamily. "And I can guarantee you that Carlisle will enjoy it," she added with a giggle. "Jazzy told me that Carlisle's lust spikes every time you call him Dr. Cullen."

I blushed a little as Rosalie doubled over with laughter. I threw a pillow at her in retaliation, which luckily for me only resulted in a few throw pillows being tossed back my way, as a full out pillow fight with a couple of vampires could have actually hurt me.

"Oh girls," I said once I had my giggles under control. "Thank you so much for bringing me here. We should definitely have girl time more often!"

They both converged upon me and hugged me tightly. We chatted for another hour or so before my yawns and drooping eyelids finally got the best of me and I made my way to the (very comfortable) bed. I knew we had a flight to catch after breakfast, and part of me was really disappointed about that. Even though it was a very short trip, every second of it had been fantastic.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that. **


	13. 12 Revelations

**A/N: Stephenie Meyer is still the owner of all things Twilight... I doubt that will change any time soon. **

**Now, in quick response to all the lovely reviews (and PS, Ch 11 had the most reviews of any chapter so far!), you all made me laugh, so sure that the big surprise of Chapter 12 was that Bella is pregnant. Didn't I tell you that the surprise was something other than that? That is a question that will be answered, one way or another, in the near future, I promise. But not yet. You guys... I told you it was something you would never expect. I sure hope I was right! Here it is, without further adieu:**

Chapter 12: Revelations

CAIUS POV

I looked out of the window in my private chamber as the sun rose over the Italian hills, signaling to me the dawn of another day. It began as a boring day in Volterra, much like any other. The high point of my day, I expected, would be Heidi's arrival with dinner. Since we had no official business to attend to today, I would most likely pass the hours in my study alone, or perhaps spend some private time with my mate, Athenodora.

I cannot deny that I have become a bit disenchanted with this existence. Centuries ago, my brothers and I went out into the world, dealing with problem vampires on our own or with the guard. These days we remain in the castle, rarely leaving, sending the guard out to fight our battles, never seeing any action for ourselves. For a vampire such as myself, who was fated to be a great leader and who has a head for battle, its quite a trite existence, really.

However, this day was meant to be different. At noon, as I reclined on a chaise reading a biography of Napoleon, I was interrupted by a knock at the door. It was Dante, a member of our staff, requesting my presence in the throne room. I was slightly curious to hear this, as I was sure there was no business today. Perhaps it would be something interesting or exciting to deal with, to break the monotony of our lives. More than likely, though, it was some vampire or another, simply stopping in to offer their respects as they passed through the area.

Really, there must be a way to make our existence more interesting than this.

Entering the throne room, I took my seat on Aro's right. It always irritated me that Aro took the center seat, appearing to be our top man. It was the three of us together that ruled, none higher than the others. And to be honest, _I_ would be the logical choice if there were to be a top position, after all, Marcus is basically a walking corpse, much less alive than any vampire I've ever met, and Aro is a foolish man with the mind of a child, always overeager and overexcitable. Of course I would be top man. But alas, I sit to the right and must assert my authority through my voice rather than simply my presence.

A few moments later, once we three were in our seats and several guard members stationed throughout the room, Dante led our guests into the room. Alas, it was as I thought - simply nomads paying tribute to their leaders. I fought the urge to sigh with my boredom.

The guests were introduced, despite the fact that we already were acquainted with them, and had been for quite some time. They were Charles and Makenna, mated nomadic vampires who usually travelled throughout Europe. Charles we knew for his ability to tell truth from lies, and Makenna we knew for her propensity to gossip. Somehow, this female had access to every bit of completely inane and useless information available in the vampire world. If I cared at all, I would wonder how she came upon this information, but not once in all my years had she passed along any bits that mattered to me. Listening to her speak made me feel a bit like my brother Marcus - completely void of interest in my surroundings.

They stood before us and made their showing of respect, bowing down once to my brothers and myself. Once these formalities had been attended to, we invited them to stay for dinner, which was still four hours away, and they accepted. That meant four hours would pass during which we were sure to be subjected to Makenna's ramblings. Once again, I fought a sigh. _I am sure Napoleon was never forced to endure such torture as this._

Five hours later, I sat in my study, replaying in my mind the conversation I had just had with the nomads. This morning I had expected a day like any other, but it had proven to be quite the opposite. For once in her existence, Makenna had found something to say that interested me. I must admit, though it rather embarrasses me to do so, that I was shocked to hear the news: Carlisle Cullen had married a human - _a human!_ - after the death of his mate! I shook my head once again, struggling to believe.

I was disgusted, to say the least. Humans are like livestock. They are our food - that is their purpose. What is wrong with the Cullen Coven that now _two_ of them had relationships with human women? Vampires are superior creatures to humans, but even humans have more sense than the Cullens - they outlaw bestiality, after all. I shivered with disgust.

I had always suspected that Carlisle was dangerous. When he first came to us well over a century ago, with his golden eyes and civilized banter, he intrigued Aro. Thus we let him stay. He lived with us for many years, during which time we struggled to convince him to be a _real_ vampire - to follow nature rather than deny himself the blood which is intended for us. Our attempts, however, we never successful. This irritated me to no end - _Did he not know who we were? We are the Volturi! The royalty of the vampire world! How dare he go against our wishes!_

Despite his obvious desire to be a lower creature than he was fated to be, he was actually quite intelligent, always reading and furthering his knowledge of any subject available. His logic, not withstanding the obvious subject on which he lacked any whatsoever, was always spot on, and he was quite adept at understanding the people around him.

Though I would never admit it to anyone, I was slightly afraid of Carlisle Cullen. Aro's obvious (though in-understandable) affinity towards him always left me feeling suspicious of their motives. It seemed to me that Aro wanted to make Carlisle one of us - _an equal to us? Impossible!_ What I didn't know was whether he intended to do so at our own expense or not. But it was not only Aro's plans that I questioned.

After he left us, Carlisle eventually began building his own coven by transforming humans, just as the vampires in the south had once done in their quest to make armies of newborns. At one point, he had seven vampires, including himself, three of whom were gifted, all living together. This meant that he had a larger coven than did the Volturi ourselves, not including our guard of course. I often wondered whether he meant to challenge us - he had already influenced those in his coven to disregard nature as he did and drink from animals.

My true fear was that he would challenge us in an attempt to bring all the vampire world under his control, and thereby his way of thinking - forcing all of us to be as disgusting and unnatural as he was himself. I would not, however, let that happen. I was the leader of our kind, and I would protect us from the likes of him.

I returned to my previous thoughts of Carlisle's latest act of subversion, and wondered how he could have possibly made the choice to become romantically involved with a human. Perhaps the animal blood they drink addles the mind - I have always warned Carlisle that it was dangerous to turn against nature. My warnings have obviously not been strong enough. However, that will change. Soon...

My plan of action was simple enough to determine. I would go to Aro and Marcus and inform them that the time had come to make our check on Bella Swan, the girl that Edward Cullen had promised to change. This visit was expected from us, so it made for a good cover. Once we arrived, we would no doubt find Carlisle's new human mate as well, giving us just cause in destroying him, as well as the rest of his coven, for betraying our secret for the second time. It was the perfect solution. Not only would I eliminate the threat to our way of life - the threat to my own personal power, but I would also hand out the justice that was deserved five years ago, and have a nice meal in the meantime.

I left my study and walked briskly down the hall to Aro's chambers, knocking on his door. He called for me to enter.

"Buona sera, brother," he greeted, smiling the same idiotic smile I have stared at for centuries.

"To you too, Aro. Do you have a minute?"

"Certamente. What do you have on your mind?" he asked.

"Interesting news we heard from Makenna today, si? It reminded me of some business we have yet to complete with the Cullen coven. I would like to go with a crew to check on the status of Edward's mate immediately."

I noticed that Aro's usual dopey grin had disappeared, and was replaced by a look of discomfort. "What is it, brother?" I asked. "è ci un problema?"

"No, no, not a problem really. There is just a bit of information to which you are not yet privy."

I was confused. What could there possibly be about this situation that I did not yet know. Especially if Aro was already aware?

"What information, Aro?" I demanded, determined to know what this bumbling idiot was keeping from me.

"Well, you see dear brother, Bella no longer belongs to Edward. Five years ago, when we had the trouble in Seattle with the newborn vampires, the Cullens fought against them. In that battle, Edward and Carlisle's mate Esme were killed. Since that time, Bella has stayed with the Cullens. It was nearly two months ago that Carlisle was remarried. Bella is his new wife."

"Edward's mate?" I cried, appalled.

"Not anymore, brother. For now she is Carlisle's mate."

"And how are you aware of such information, yet I am not?" I asked, trying to keep my rage in check.

"Carlisle called me, five weeks before he was married. He explained the situation to me, and assured me that Bella was still going to be changed. He requested a period of one year before the change occurred, so that his children could finish their degrees and move with him to help handle Bella while she is a newborn. I granted his request."

"And I was not consulted? You are not the only member of the Volturi, Aro!" I yelled, my anger now boiling within me.

"At the time of the call, you were lying with Athenodora and had requested not to be disturbed. I consulted Marcus, who agreed with me."

I was furious, but I would not show him this. I took a moment to calm myself, and then apologized for my outburst. "Of course, Aro. I know that you would never go behind my back. I didn't mean to imply, forgive me. I assume you have planned to check in with them in one year's time to ensure that they have completed their promise?" He nodded in the affirmative. "Excuse me, now, dear brother. I must return to my mate now. Arrivederci."

"Ciao, dear brother," he answered as I walked out the door.

I managed to return to the privacy of my study before flying into a full rage. I threw books and candles off of my desk and into the walls, enjoying the thuds and crashes I heard on their contact. I roared with anger, my cries of rage echoing off the stone walls of my chamber. I had been foiled once again!

Yes, again. You see, I must admit that this was not my first attempt to rid the world of Carlisle Cullen. The trouble that Aro mentioned in Seattle was not a surprise to me, because I had helped cause it. Thanks to my infallible vampire memory, I had no trouble recalling my first visit with the fiery redhead who would become my comrade at arms.

_Dante came to my study, asking permission for a private meeting with a nomad. It was slightly unusual, but it had been an unusual day already. That morning, my brothers and I had met with a nomadic female in the throne room. The female had come to complain about the murders of her coven members, one of whom was her mate. She blamed the Cullens for both killings, but Aro refused to believe her, as we have always known Carlisle to be extremely non-violent. It all seemed quite odd to me._

_I granted permission, and the redheaded female from that morning entered my study. She came to beg me to believe her about the Cullens, and relayed to me the story of her mate, a tracker, who had been killed by Edward Cullen for attacking his mate. His human mate. The redhead, whose name was Victoria, spoke of this human as if she left a bad taste in her mouth. She continued with her history, telling me of the other coven member, who she sent to spy on the human girl, but who was instead killed by the Cullens. She was filled with hate for the golden-eyed mutants, mistrusting their intentions and finding their lifestyle reprehensible - sentiments to which I could relate - and was determined to kill not only the human girl, but the whole coven as well. _

_I recognized right away, as any good leader would, the opportunity with which she presented me. Here was a nomad, who had no known connections to the Volturi, and she wanted to do my dirty work for me. If she was successful, all I wished for would be achieved. If she failed, she would die and no one would ever know of my involvement. Either way, I won._

_Victoria and I spent several weeks making our preparations. It was decided that she would create an army of newborn vampires with which to attack the Cullens. Making an army would be quite difficult, especially when it came to controlling them. My job was to ensure that the Volturi guard would not disrupt her work. That was easy enough to accomplish - I purposely delayed the guard so that they did not arrive until after the battle had ended. _

In the end, however, the insolent redhead was a failure in her pursuit. Not only did she not kill the human, but she also failed to destroy Carlisle and the vast majority of his coven, and she was herself killed as well. I did not grieve her loss, for she held no meaning to me whatsoever. I did not bewail the lost opportunity - I would have to wait for the next one. I had eternity, though, and I would eventually prevail.

My conversation with Aro, now, however, infuriated me. His answer was too quick, too simple. It would have been easy to consult with me and call Carlisle with his answer at a later time. Aro may have the mind of a child, but he is not so stupid that he would not know this. No, this was calculated. He intentionally went behind my back, keeping me uninformed, allying himself with Marcus. It was as I had always expected - Aro was showing his preference to that ingrate, that dissident, Carlisle Cullen, over his own brother. I would not stand for it.

I paced my nearly destroyed office for hours, carefully stepping over the debris on the floor and minding the dust and stones that were still falling from the holes I had created in the walls and ceiling. Finally, a plan came to me. The main point I had to be sure of were that I kept my thoughts to myself - I couldn't afford for Aro to discover my intentions this time. Because this time, although my main purpose was still to destroy the Cullen coven, I planned on taking out competition closer to home as well...

**A/N: Well, were you surprised? What did you think? Caius is a bit of a bitter asshole, isn't he? And by no means modest... LOL**

**Next chapter will be up on Wednesday, and will be a fun one for sure. Send me a review and I'll send you a preview. ;)**


	14. 13 One Last Birthday

**A/N: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. I have serious doubts she'd approve of what I've done with it, but that's okay with me. **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I was glad to see that my evil plan worked and I really threw most of you for a loop. To answer any questions you might have, Alice has not Seen anything about Caius, so the Cullens are still oblivious to any problem. This is because they are under the assumption that they have a free year with no need to worry, and she's therefore not watching them. Not to mention Caius's plans are not yet solidified. **

**This chapter takes us back to Hanover, where the Cullens are still having fun together, celebrating Bella's 23rd Birthday. **

Chapter 13: One Last Birthday

BPOV

I woke up this morning to the coolness of lips against my neck - Carlisle's lips, to be exact. I sighed contentedly and turned my face towards his to meet his lips, spending the vast majority of the next ten minutes kissing him. Somewhere along the course of those ten minutes, I realized that we were both, in fact, still naked from last night. As his hands trailed up and down my body, caressing me gently, I pressed my body against him, silently giving him permission to take things further. Understanding my meaning, we were soon joined with one gentle thrust. We made love slowly and tenderly, whispering our love and devotion to each other in hushed voices, our mouths fused together in a passionate kiss as we came. _Perfect way to start the day._

"Good morning wife," Carlisle whispered as he slid over me and laid by my side. "Happy brithday."

"Thank you, honey," I said, flashing him a warm smile.

Years ago I would have moaned and groaned the speaking of such words, because I hated the idea of getting older while everyone around me, specifically Edward, did not. However, birthdays did not disturb me anymore. This particular birthday, in fact, I knew would be my last as a human, which strangely, made it seem less foreboding to me. Not to mention it's arrival brought my age to match Carlisle's.

"So was that my present?" I asked coyly.

"Oh, my lovely girl, that was merely a good morning. Your gifts are coming later..." he replied, his grin never fading. "But for now, I think you should eat your breakfast."

He nodded towards the silver tray on the bedside table. _How did I not smell food in here when I woke up?_ I followed his glance and saw that he had prepared blueberry waffles and turkey sausage, and what appeared to be fresh-squeezed orange juice in a glass on the side. He had finished off the tray with a small vase holding a bouquet of gerber daisies.

Pulling the sheet up to cover my still nude form, I brought the tray into my lap and thoroughly enjoyed my breakfast.

Once I had finished, he took the tray and set it on the dresser, and then picked me up and carried me into the bathroom. He turned on the shower and let the water warm a bit before we stepped inside. Setting me gently on my feet, he then proceeded to wash my hair and body before washing his own. His touch was tender, almost reverent as he worked. Carlisle never failed to make me feel like I was cherished.

After our shower, we dressed and made our way to the living room, where we found my siblings waiting for us.

"Happy Birthday!" They chorused loudly, all of them grinning.

I felt a burst of joy slam me in the chest, and winked knowingly at Jasper. He and I had gotten much closer over the past five years, but the motorcycle trip to Maine last week, quite specifically the talk at the beach, had somehow deepened our bond further. It was something that I was extremely grateful for.

I skipped over to to the couch and was immediately engulfed in a hug that could only have come from Emmett - six years, and he still nearly kills me every time we hug! I reminded him of my need for oxygen and he let me down, chuckling.

After getting a much gentler hug from my sisters and Jasper, I was settled into the center of the couch, with Carlisle by my side and my siblings forming a sort of semicircle around us.

That's when I noticed a pile of gifts by Alice's side. She handed me the first, which was an envelope.

"Wait a moment, please, sweetheart," Carlisle said, placing his hand over mine so that I couldn't open the envelope. "There's one gift that you should know about before anything."

I gave him a questioning look, and he took both my hands in his, smiling softly.

"My love, before our wedding, I spoke with Aro, and obtained his permission to delay your change until next summer. I knew you didn't want to be away from your brothers and sisters, nor did I want to try to handle you as a newborn on my own. So, your gift, as it were, is a free year. We have this year with nothing to fear from the Volturi, to do whatever you still want to do, see whatever you want to see."

I was amazed. There hadn't been a moment in the last five years where there wasn't fear of the Volturi in the back of my mind, that they would just show up and ruin my seemingly perfect life. As much as I was anxious to be changed and begin my new life, I knew that this gift was as much for Carlisle as it was me - he had mentioned, often in passing, places he'd like us to go that I knew would be nearly impossible as a newborn, and perhaps even for a long time after that first year. Now we had time. I hugged him an kissed him sweetly in thanks.

Emmett cleared his throat loudly, returning my attention to the envelope in my hands. Opening it, I found several folded papers. As I opened them and read them over silently, I burst out laughing.

"You boys are so silly!" I said between giggles.

"Hey, it's your last year as a human, we wanted you to have a chance to experience as many things as possible before you change," Emmett defended.

Their method of helping me to experience more human things was to enroll me in several clubs: lobster, steak, pasta, desert, pie, fruit, cheese, and wine of the month. Once I filled everyone else in on the gift, we all got a good laugh. In all actuality, it was very sweet and thoughtful of them, despite it's silliness.

I thanked my brothers and then Alice handed me a second envelope.

"Not more clubs?" I asked, smiling.

"Just open it, my love," Carlisle responded.

I did as he asked, and sat with my mouth gaping open in shock as I read the paper I removed from it. The paper that had written on it a detailed itinerary for a European vacation. I looked up at Carlisle, questioning him with my eyes without saying a word.

"We're leaving in two weeks, sweetheart, and we're going to spend a few months traveling around Europe together. I'm going to take you to see the sights and all the art you've dreamed of. Just you and me, my love," he explained.

I couldn't respond, I was so overwhelmed. He was giving me everything, setting the world, or at least Europe, at my feet. It was nothing short of incredible. I threw my arms around him and kissed him deeply, only stopping when I was hit with a wave of annoyance, reminding me that my siblings were still in the room.

I drew back from Carlisle, blushing lightly, but smiling still.

"So I guess you liked that gift?" Emmett said sarcastically, letting loose a loud guffaw.

"I did, in fact, big brother," I said, glaring good-naturedly at him. Then I turned to my husband, cupping his cheek in my hand and gazed into his eyes. "It was perfect," I said, speaking to both Emmett and Carlisle.

Alice handed me the third and final envelope off of the pile of gifts. Opening this one, I found a small silver key and a photograph of a small house. I looked at the picture for a moment, taking in the available details. It was a tan stucco house, one story with a red tile roof, a white wrap-around porch, a large windows. I looked at Carlisle, but he shook his head, offering no explanation. I reached once again into the envelope, and this time pulled out a small piece of stationary. Unfolding it, I read the note written upon it.

_Querida Hermanita,_

_Feliz Compleaños! Happy Birthday, dear sister. I hope that you had a lovely time on your honeymoon and you are now enjoying your time back with your family. I miss you very much and hope that I will see you again soon. To facilitate such a visit, I have sent this gift to you. The key you hold will open the house in the picture. This house is yours, hermanita. Eleazar and I had it built on our hacienda in Andalucia, Spain. You are always welcome to stay there, with or without us. But I hope that someday very soon we will spend time there together. Until then, hermanita. _

_Carmen_

"Carlisle, did you know about this?" I asked.

"About what, Bella? What does the note say?"

"Carmen - she and Eleazar built this house for us on their hacienda. They gave us a house, Carlisle!"

Needless to say, everyone in the room was quite shocked and impressed by the gift. I made the decision then to call Carmen in the evening to thank her.

Alice, seeing my decision, knew that I was still available to open gifts, and handed me package after package. As it turned out, every one of the gifts on the floor were from Alice - all clothes that she had picked out for my trip to Europe. They were all, of course, wonderful, and I was thrilled that I wouldn't have to worry about shopping in the next two weeks.

Once I had opened the last package, Rosalie let me know that she had a gift for me as well, but I wouldn't get it until the next morning. I was a little nervous about what that might mean - the last gift that I had been asked to wait overnight for was a yacht! I hoped that my sister hadn't been quite that extravagant.

By the time I finished opening all the gifts, I was starving, so my sisters and I went to the kitchen to make lunch while the boys cleaned up the wrapping paper mess in the living room.

The six of us spent the afternoon together, laughing almost constantly. We played several games, from chess to Twister. And allow me to say that Twister with the most graceful individuals on earth has the potential to go on forever, but luckily it did not. Mostly thanks to Jasper, using his powers to cause the others to be overcome with giddiness, laughter, sorrow, or lust randomly, usually causing them to fall. On top of that, Rosalie was whispering into Emmett's ear randomly, I assume comments that were sexual in nature, to distract him. For once, I was almost glad for their cheating, just because it gave the game potential to end!

When evening came, Emmett ordered pizza for me and we sat down to watch several movies, including Dracula, Interview with a Vampire and The Night Stalker. We poked fun at the inaccuracies of the vampire mythology throughout all three, and then Rosalie told me a story about Emmett insisting upon dressing up as a "real" vampire for Halloween, complete with cloak and wax fangs, at least once in every city they'd lived in for the past seventy years. She ran upstairs and returned less than a minute later with pictures in hand, and we all got a good laugh at my brother's expense. Strangely enough, the trappings of vampire mythology actually made Emmett look less intimidating.

Finally, the hour got late and I was tired, so we ended the "party" and Carlisle took me up to bed. It may have been a quiet day at home, but I wouldn't have changed it for the world.

I was awakened the next morning by the sound of Alice and Rosalie yelling for me through the door. (They had learned the hard way not to walk in whenever they wanted after the third time they caught glimpse of much more of Carlisle than they preferred to see.) I slid out of bed and slipped into my robe before opening the door, happy that they had at least allowed me to sleep until a reasonable hour this morning.

I opened the door to their eager grins, Alice practically vibrating with excitement. Whatever they were doing at my door, I had no doubt that it was related to Rosalie's gift. I was extremely curious to find out what it was. I didn't even have to ask - Alice grabbed me by the hand and pulled me right out of the room and down the hall towards the stairs.

Once we reached Alice's room, they sent me in to shower. When I stepped out ten minutes later, I found my outfit for the day sitting on the counter waiting for me, and a wide grin spread across my face. We were going to a Red Sox game! (I knew that because Alice never approved of sports jerseys as clothing unless we were going to a game.) While I was excited, I was also a little surprised and confused. True, it was something I liked, but a baseball game didn't exactly scream Rosalie. I wasn't one to complain though.

About an hour after I woke up, we were all ready to leave. The three of us walked out to the garage, where our men were already waiting for us. I was surprised when Carlisle opened the passenger door of the Mercedes for me. Usually we took Emmett's Jeep when we all went somewhere together. Then I noticed Rosalie and Alice getting into the M3, and Jasper and Emmett the Jeep. _Why were we all taking separate cars?_

We pulled out of the driveway, and I saw the M3 and the Jeep speed off faster than usual. I looked at Carlisle for an explanation, and he shrugged, and told me that the guys had challenged the girls to a race to Boston. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. My brothers always felt the need to bet over anything and everything.

Carlisle and I, on the other hand, took our time getting to Fenway Park, driving more slowly than he usually did. At one point, I raised my eyebrow at him, questioning his speed, but his only response was a sexy smile and a squeeze of my hand. I didn't bother questioning him further - it was becoming obvious to me that this was all part of an elaborate surprise, so I knew he wouldn't tell me anything.

We finally reached the parking lot of Fenway, and I noticed Carlisle looking at his watch as he pulled the Mercedes into a space. He shifted into park, and then reached over to me, unbuckling my seatbelt and pulling me over the center console and into his lap. We kissed for several minutes in this position. In the back of my mind, I couldn't help flashing back to the last time I had been in a similar position, in the parking lot of the Port Angeles Mall, and was desperately trying to keep myself under control, lest I attack him once again.

He chuckled lightly, and brought his lips near my ear. "Thinking of the mall are you?" He asked huskily.

"How did you know?" I asked, barely staving off the blush that was fighting to emerge on my cheeks.

He inhaled deeply and I heard a low purr coming from deep in his chest. "Because you smell delicious, my love, which means you are thinking of something delicious... And I know that that afternoon crossed my mind immediately upon you arriving in my lap," he said huskily.

His tongue slowly made its way around the rim of my ear, teasing me, making me shiver and my desire for him spike.

"Carlisle, honey... I want you...now..."

"Oh baby, I know, I want you too," he said, sighing. "Unfortunately, this is not the right time, no matter how I wish it was."

"Please, honey..." I said, practically begging now that I was so worked up.

"Baby, I promise you, if it was up to me, we would. But I can tell you that your sister is about fifteen feet from the car at this moment, and I can guarantee you she _will_ put a stop to this even if I agree."

I groaned with displeasure, but allowed him to lift me off his lap and set me lightly on the ground after he opened the car door. He was right - as soon as I looked up I saw Alice leaning against the car next to ours, smirking at me and shaking her head with mock disapproval. I just shrugged my shoulders in response.

"Really, Bella, you are incorrigible," she said, laughing.

"So I've been told," I said, turning and offering Carlisle a grin as he approached me from behind, earning myself a peal of his deep chiming laugh.

The three of us made our way into the stadium, and Alice led us to our seats, which were in a box right above the Red Sox dugout. As we approached our seats, I noticed that there were several more bodies in our box than I expected. I saw Rosalie motion towards me to the people in the box, and as they turned, I finally discovered my surprise - Charlie and Sue and Renee and Phil were here!

I ran to my parents, hugging them all tightly one by one. I couldn't believe they were there! When I was finished greeting them, Rosalie pulled me aside.

"Bella, this is half of your birthday present. Since this is your last human birthday, I wanted to give you a chance to do things and see people that will be hard, if not impossible, for you by next year."

I hugged her as tightly as I could. "Thank you, Rose. I couldn't have asked for anything that would mean more. I love you, sis."

The ten of us spent the game laughing, cheering, booing, waving, and singing along with the organ music. I sat between my dad and Carlisle, both of them squeezing my hand often, sharing with me their excitement over the game and the company. Charlie, who was still a bit surprised by how much I enjoyed the game, seemed absolutely thrilled to be there with me. I have to say, the feeling was mutual. I was so excited to share and enjoy something with my dad that I knew was one of his very favorite pasttimes. I would forever be grateful to Rosalie for orchestrating this day.

When the game ended, with a score of nine to six in favor of the Red Sox, we walked back to the cars. Charlie was grumbling a little bit under his breath about the Mariners being a better team than the Sox (I don't know why this mattered, seeing as how this particular game had been played against Tampa Bay), and I felt my heart warm when I saw Sue rubbing her hand gently up and down his arm, soothing him. It was definitely a relief to me to know that Charlie would be taken care of when I had to disappear.

We got into our cars, Charlie and Sue riding with us in the Mercedes and Renee and Phil joining Rose and Emmett in the Jeep. After driving for less that ten minutes, we pulled up in front of the Ritz Carlton Hotel. Carlisle got out first, and walked around to open my door for me, handing the keys to the valet as he passed. The four of us walked together into the hotel lobby.

A few minutes later, Carlisle and I were opening the door of our luxury park view suite. Rose had reserved five of these suites, one for each couple, for the night. As we walked around the suite, taking in all of its opulence, I became preoccupied with thoughts of my gloriously handsome, sexy husband - I had, after all, been interrupted earlier. As we explored the bedroom, I took Carlisle's hand and tugged it lightly. He let me pull him toward the bed, and we tumbled down onto it together, our tongues already dancing together. I could feel his arousal against my thigh, and began struggling to pull his tee shirt over his head.

Suddenly, a pounding on the door brought us out of the moment. I whimpered my disappointment, but relinquished my hold on his shirt, allowing him to get up and answer the door. When he did, my little pixie sister came flying in, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me toward the door.

"There'll be plenty of time for that later, Bella. We have to get ready now," she said. "Carlisle? The boys will be here in one minute and twelve seconds," Alice explained as she shut the door behind us.

A few seconds later, we entered Alice and Jasper's room, where Rosalie, Sue, and my mom were already waiting for us. I saw several garment bags hanging from the door handles of the closet and the french doors separating the rooms of the suite, and a stack of shoe boxes on the table. As I walked in further, I saw that the bathroom had been set up as a small salon.

"So Rosalie, Bella is here now. Do we get to know what the plan is for the night?" Renee asked, her impatience obvious in her tone.

"Yes," my sister answered. We have a special night ahead of us. It's the premier night for the Boston Ballet, and it's called A Night of Stars. We'll start at the Opera House, where we'll see a performance that showcases all of the great talent of the ballet company, and then we'll return to the hotel, where we'll attend a party put on by the company, including drinks, some food, and dancing."

"Ooohhh Bella!" exclaimed my mom. "We're going to have so much fun! You're such a lucky girl - your husband is a marvelous dancer."

Rose's obvious excitement was barely contained as she explained our evening to us. I couldn't deny that I was probably as excited as she was. I'd never been to see a ballet before, despite having wanted to for a very long time. Not to mention there was dancing with Carlisle to look forward to! I did, however, have serious doubts about how Charlie and Phil, and even Emmett, were going to appreciate this evening.

The five of us spent hours getting ready, with Alice and Rosalie playing stylist for all of us before getting themselves ready. We all made casual conversation as we were primped - my mother and Sue wanting to know all about my honeymoon(I left out some of the better details for the sake of my audience, but they were sufficiently impressed by La Bella Luce and Isle Esme) and birthday gifts, and I wanted to hear about the plans for the upcoming wedding of my father and Sue. Renee filled us in on Phil's new job - he was going to be coaching for the team that he had played for in Jacksonville, and was very excited about it. Once again, I felt happiness and relief to see my parents would both be happy and taken care of once I had to take myself out of their picture.

Finally, we were all ready to go meet the boys, and if I do say so myself, we looked amazing. Alice had shopped with the theme of the party in mind, so we were all wearing silver or black. Sue had on a sleeveless black silk dress that fell right at the knees with a fuller skirt, and black, white, and silver embroidery on the hem. The dress was paired with black patent leather peep-toes Christian Louboutin slingbacks. Renee was wearing a black dress, one shouldered, that had two layers - the bottom was a charmeuse pencil style, and the top was floaty, asymmetrically draped chiffon. She wore a pair of black satin Manolo Blahnik shoes with oval rhinestone detail over the toe with it. Rosalie was next. She was wearing a knee length, very fitted pewter-colored dress, with a deep v-neck whose straps were all rhinestones and made an x from her shoulders down across her chest, ending at her hips. From the center of the x to her sides, the fabric of the dress was a ruched satin. She had paired the dress with a pair of strappy pewter-colored sandals. Alice was dressed in a strapless silver minidress that ended at her mid-thigh. The bodice had a sweetheart neckline, and the hem was made of three-dimensional fabrics folded out of the fabric of the dress. The neckline was beaded, as was a belt around the waist. The dress was absolutely incredible, especially when she paired it with her metallic and rhinestone t-strap peep-toed Manolo Blahnik sandals. I was the last to leave the room, wearing a mid-thigh length shimmery sequined silver dress, with a v-neck and cap sleeves. It floated slightly away from my body after the banded empire waist, and the sequins were arranged in a stripe patten. I was wearing matching metallic sandals with it.

We walked down the hall to my and Carlisle's room, and knocked once. Emmett answered, wearing a black Armani suit with a pewter tie. The other four followed him to the door, all wearing similar suits with ties matching their wife's dress. Carlisle came to me and slipped his arms around my waist, pulling me close to him.

"As much as I hated being interrupted once again, I must say that it was worth it to see you look so amazingly beautiful," he whispered.

"Thank you honey. I must say that you look incredibly handsome as well."

We all took an elevator to the lobby, where we found a limo waiting to take us to the Opera House. When we arrived, we were taken by an usher to our seats in the dress circle. The show was amazing. It wasn't really a ballet, more like a preview of the upcoming season for the company. So there were scenes performed from several ballets, as well as several individual spotlight performances. I loved the dancing - it was so graceful and beautiful. I could picture Alice as one of the dancers easily - she would fit right in.

Once the show was over, our limo took us back to the Ritz, where we enjoyed some appetizers and drinks before the music started. The first song to play, to my husband's absolute delight, was _Fly Me to the Moon_ by Frank Sinatra, thus he took me by the hand and led me to the center of the dance floor. We danced together to that song, as well as the next few, before Charlie tapped Carlisle on the shoulder and asked to cut in.

"You look real pretty tonight Bells. It's like you have a glow around you. And you're so happy too. I don't think I've ever seen you so happy as you are today, except at your wedding. Carlisle too. I can see it in his eyes."

"Thanks Dad. You clean up well, you know. I can tell how handsome Sue thinks you look by the fact that she hasn't taken her eyes off of you all evening," I replied with a grin.

I heard him mumble something, only picking up the words "Alice" and "monkey suit", and just laughed. I would expect nothing else from Charlie.

"I know I don't need to say this, Bells, but I don't want you to forget it. I know Carlisle makes you happy, and I'm sure he's taking good care of you. But if you ever need me, Bells..."

"I know Dad, thanks."

I tightened my arms around Charlie's neck, my heart filled with love for this man, my father, who had always been so reluctant to express himself or be open emotionally, but was now trying so hard to tell me how much he loved me.

"And I love you too," I said softly, laying my head on his shoulder.

We danced in silence for the rest of the song.

When the song ended, I let Charlie go back to Sue, and went to look for Carlisle. I instead found myself securely wrapped in Jasper's strong arms.

"Hey big brother," I said, grinning.

"Little sis," he replied, flashing me a smile that showed off his adorable dimples.

We danced, the song a bit faster than those that proceeded it, laughing as we did. When a waiter walked by with a tray of champagne flutes, he asked if I was thirsty.

"No, I'm okay, Jas. How about you?"

"I'm alright, Bella. No trouble here. You know, I think you've been spending way too much time with Carlisle."

I was taken aback. "Why would you say that, Jas?" I asked.

He inhaled deeply. "Yep, just what I thought. You are starting to smell like him."

"Well, I have been dancing with his arms around me for an hour," I said, thinking the answer should have been obvious.

"No, I don't smell him _on_ you. Well, that's not true. I _do_ smell him on you, but that wasn't what I meant. I meant that your scent has changed somehow. It smells like Carlisle's mixed with yours. It's strange. I've never noticed something like that before."

"Oh. Weird," I replied, for lack of anything else to say. I understood his meaning, and couldn't help but wonder what it might mean.

When I was finally reunited with my husband, I mentioned Jasper's comment to him. He pondered it so hard that I swore I could see the wheels turning inside of his beautiful head.

After a full song without speaking, he suddenly opened his mouth. "The venom," he said. "It must be the venom. You've been taking quite a bit of it into your body, perhaps that's what is causing the change in your scent."

"That makes sense, I suppose," I said, not really having a clue either way.

"Are you feeling alright, my love? You haven't noticed any changes other than the scent?" He asked, obviously quite concerned with my well being.

"Honey, I'm fine. I promise you. And I'll let you know if there is anything else, but so far there isn't."

He leaned down and kissed me gently, and I could still feel his unease. I wanted to end it.

I pulled his face down so that it was at a level where I could reach. "Honey? Let's go back up to our suite. I'll show you just how fine I am..." I said in a low whisper.

He responded with a low growl and a deep kiss. "I'd like nothing better, sweetheart."

We made our way over to the others and said goodnight, then walked hand in hand toward the elevator. As we rode it back to our floor, I thought about the gift that Rosalie had given me. I knew, as I walked away, that this might be the last time I ever get to see my parents. But I didn't fear the future. I had long ago made my choices, and, especially now, after making this last special memory and seeing my parents both happy and cared for, I knew I had no regrets. Tonight wasn't going to be the night that I was bitten, but somehow, walking into our suite at the Ritz was symbolic - Carlisle and I had walked together, hand in hand, away from my past, and towards our future. We stripped each other of our clothes, lay down in our bed, and made love, reveling in the joy that our love had brought us and the hopes we had for our eternity.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Sorry to get it to you a day late. I'll just be honest and say I tried hard, but I was too sleepy to stay up late at night to write since I've been waking up early and driving my mom to work while her car is in the shop. I'll get my act together, though, I promise. To make up for my tardiness, let me offer you this: send me a review, and if chapter 14 isn't ready tomorrow morning, I'll send you a teaser bright and early to hold you over.**

**Chapter 14 will be the last chapter before Carlisle and Bella leave for Europe, and it promises to be HOT.**

**Till then!**


	15. 14 The Doctor's Appointment

**A/N: Thanks so much to all of you who read and reviewed Chapter 13. I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Many of your reviews asked about the issue with Bella's scent. The answer is only a few chapters away, and I don't want to give away the surprise just yet. So just come along for the ride and enjoy. **

**Also, I wanted to announce some exciting news. The prequel to this story, A Light in the Darkness, has been nominated for 3 Twific Indies! I am absolutely thrilled and excited beyond belief here. The awards it is up for are Best AU Complete, Best non ExB Story Line Complete, and Most Romantic Moment, Complete. Voting opens on July 7 and goes until July 12. If you read it and loved it, please give me a vote! I would really appreciate your support. Check it out at theindietwificawards . com. **

**Finally, in case you have forgotten, I am not Stephenie Meyer and therefore not the owner of these characters.**

Chapter 14: The Doctor's Appointment

CPOV

The day after we returned to the Hanover house from Boston, with all four of Bella's parents in tow, no less, I found myself seated at the dining room table with them, talking over breakfast - pancakes and eggs for the humans, a cup of coffee for myself. The "kids" had already left for Dartmouth, and the six of us were debating possible ways to spend the days left of their visit. I was distracted from the conversation, however, when the telephone rang.

"Excuse me, please," I said as I left the table to retrieve the phone from the living room.

"Hello?" I said as I picked up the phone.

"Yes, hello. May I please speak with Dr. Cullen?" A pleasant voice replied.

"This is Carlisle Cullen."

"Hello Dr. Cullen, this is Annie Hashford, I'm Dr. Yanofsky's secretary." I flipped through my mental rolladex for a moment, and then remembered that Dr Yanofsky was the section chief for the emergency department at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

"Yes, of couse. What can I do for you Ms. Hashford?"

"I'm calling because Dr. Yanofsky would like to speak with you. If this is a good time, I'll get him on the line."

"Sure, that would be fine."

I waited for a moment before I heard the deep voice of Norman Yanofsky.

"Dr. Cullen?"

"Yes, Dr. Yanofsky, it's me."

"Please, call me Norman. How is married life treating you?"

"Very well, thank you, Norman. Very well indeed. And please, call me Carlisle."

"Alright then, Carlisle. I'm sure you can guess this isn't merely a social call. I'm actually calling to ask you for a favor."

"What do you need, Norman?"

"Well, you see, one of our doctors in the ER is out on maternity leave, and a second just had a terrible car accident, and he is out of work for an unknown recovery time. We are conducting an emergency search for another doctor to fill in, and immediately thought of you. Is there any way that you could help us out?"

"Honestly, Norman, my wife and I are leaving for Europe in two weeks. If you'd like my help until then, I will speak with her about it and get back to you."

"Carlisle, two weeks of your time would be invaluable. Please do that, and let me know as soon as you can."

He thanked me, and we said good-bye.

I returned the the dining room, and asked Bella for a moment of her time. She agreed, and we walked hand in hand out to the tree swing, and sat down.

"Who was on the phone, honey?" She asked with wide eyes. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, my love. Everything is fine. That was the chief of the emergency department at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. They are a bit short-staffed at the moment because of an accident, and he was asking me to fill in for a couple of weeks until we leave for Europe. I told him that I had to discuss such a decision with my wife."

She smiled warmly. "Do you want to go back to work?" She asked, a slight tinge of concern in her voice, though it was mostly covered by a supportive tone.

"Sweetheart, if I spent every moment with you for eternity and never worked again, I would remain a happy man."

"That didn't actually answer the question, sweet as it may have been," she said, giving me a mock angry look.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just wanted you to understand that I have no regrets about leaving work for now, and I truly am happy to spend all my time with you. That being said, I do miss work a little, but if I do agree to help, I would like to limit my shifts to three per week. I really don't want to be away from you too much."

"Well then I think you should do it, honey. It's alright with me, really. While you're at work, I can spend time with everyone else. I know you love being a doctor, Carlisle. I don't want you to give that up."

My wife, always so supportive and generous. I loved her even more in that moment.

"Thank you, Bella. I will call Dr. Yanofsky back and let him know. I love you, you know."

"I do know. And I love you too," she said, leaning in to kiss me.

It was in this way that I found myself once again walking the halls of Dartmouth-Hitchcock. It felt good to be back, really, doing what I was good at, helping those who needed me. But now, as the time passed on my third shift, I found myself desperately missing Bella. I looked at my watch, knowing that as I walked these halls, she was likely on her way back from Boston after dropping off her parents at the airport. I sighed, willing the time to pass faster so that I could find myself once again lying in her arms.

Two hours later, I was washing up after treating a victim of a rather severe car accident. The patient had been lucky to have a vampire as a doctor, as I was able to pick up the scent of anemia in her blood and adjust my treatment to accommodate for her condition. I was able to stabilize her and get her transported upstairs for surgery successfully. It was patients like these that reminded me of why I chose to work in this field - whereas most of my kind went around killing people, I could help even the scales a little by saving others.

Just as I finished changing out of my bloody scrubs, I heard my pager buzz. Lifting it, I was confused to see that I had been paged to my own office. Picking up the telephone in the staff locker room, I called the secretary of of our department to check on the page. She let me know that I had an appointment waiting - an interview that the chief had asked for me to conduct for him in his search for a new nurse for the ER.

I sighed. Why was I responsible for this when I was only here for a two week substituting position? I assumed that Dr Yanofsky was busy with something else, and since I had agreed to come here to assist him, I made my way toward my office.

I entered my office and sat down behind my desk before using my intercom to call the secretary and let her know that I was available for the interview. As I waited, I glanced over the CV that lay on my desk. It described the perspective nurse as one with rather extensive experience for her young age, having worked as a trauma nurse in the military as well as an ER nurse in an inner city Chicago hospital. I wondered what had led her to Hanover.

A knock on my door brought me out of my thoughts.

"Come in, Ms. Smith," I called.

The door opened, and the woman who walked in took my breath away.

The woman was petite, with long waves of mahogany colored hair, pale skin, and deep chocolate eyes. I inhaled deeply, taking in her scent, freesia, strawberries and cinnamon apples, that smelled so sweet. She was wearing a long belted coat, with red stiletto pumps and white pantyhose sticking out from underneath. This woman was a goddess. This woman was my wife.

I smiled and raised my eyebrow at her.

"My love, I am in no way displeased to see you, but may I ask what you are doing here?"

"Yes, of course you may ask, Dr. Cullen," she answered in a sultry tone. "I am here to apply for the nursing position." That said, she untied the belt on her coat and then turned around, walking towards the coat rack in the corner of my office. A moment passed, during which I could only assume she was unbuttoning the coat, before she let it slide down her arms and hung it on the rack. What was revealed would have stopped my heart had it been beating.

I got the full effect as she turned around, grasping the edge of my desk for support as I nearly dropped to my knees. Every ounce of venom in my body went directly to my groin as I took in the vixen before me. She was wearing an extremely tight white minidress with red trim. It was cut so low that I had quite a view of her gorgeous breasts - _Is it just me or have they gotten even fuller?_ - and I noticed that there was a zipper from the point of the v down to her navel, which, if pulled down, would reveal her soft skin and delicious nipples to me. The dress was so short that it only just covered the sweet curve of her ass. On her legs were white thigh high pantyhose, topped with a large red bow, and as she walked toward me, she slid onto her head a little nurse's cap. _Oh my god._

I was unable to move or speak as I stood there staring at her. I watched as she walked over to the chair in front of my desk and sat down, crossing her legs slowly, revealing a glimpse of her tiny white g-string as she did. _Ugh. She's going to kill me._

"So, Dr. Cullen," she said, bringing me back into the present. "Do you have any questions for me?"

"Umm..." I stammered, still seriously lacking in the ability to focus on anything other than how she looked and how much I wanted her. I sank down into my chair, reaching down to arrange myself a bit, as my scrub pants were quite tented with my desire.

"I suppose I could start," she said, seeing my struggle. "Obviously I have had some experience, and I've been told that I'm quite good at what I do. If I was your nurse, Dr. Cullen, I would be sure to anticipate your needs and make sure that they were all met."

_She's batting her eyelashes at me. Every time she calls me Dr. Cullen I want to cum. And her voice, oh god! It's so throaty already... I have to have her!_

"I'm quite sure that this is all true, Miss Smith."

"Please, call me Isabella," she interrupted.

"Isabella, then," I said, swallowing hard. "How soon would you be able to start?"

"Dr. Cullen, I could start immediately," she said, her voice breathy, as she uncrossed and then recrossed her legs, once again flashing me a bit of her heaven. "But perhaps you'd like to see some of my skills in action before you make your decision?"

_Oh god, was she really going to do this? _

"Yes, perhaps that's a good idea," I answered.

She stood, and made her way slowly around my desk toward where I said, swaying her hips as she walked. I was sure my head would explode with the intense need I was feeling. She stopped when she was standing directly in front of me, and dropped down onto her knees. _Oh god oh god oh god._

She untied my scrub bottoms and I lifted my hips to allow her to slide the pants down. She took my boxer briefs with them. And there I sat, wearing only a scrub top and a white lab coat, my stethoscope still around my neck, in my office, with sexiest, naughtiest nurse I'd ever seen on her knees in front of me, her tongue licking the head of my cock.

"Oooooohhhh god, Isabella...." I groaned as she sucked my length into her hot mouth.

She slid her head up and down my cock, swirling her tongue over my length as she did, gazing up at me through her lashes the whole time. The sight of her like this was making it hard to hold back. I slipped my hand onto the back of her head, my fingers intertwining in her silky hair. I didn't put any pressure on her head, just let my hand lay there while she did her work.

"Oh hell....shit....uuuuggghhhh.....so damn amazing....the teeth....oooooohhhhhh...god baby..."

I kept up a nearly steady stream of obscenities, moans, bits of thoughts. Her mouth of me was quickly driving me to the brink of insanity.

She must have decided that she had teased me enough, because she suddenly created a tight suction around my cock with her mouth, and increased the speed and force of her sucking. I was so close to the edge, but trying desperately to prolong the pleasure she was giving me.

"Oh baby...you're so...good....at that....god...gonna cum Isabella..."

She moaned at my words, and the vibrations it created around my cock pushed me over the brink. I came hard, crying out her name as quietly as I could since we were still in the hospital. She licked me clean, then let me slide out of her mouth, looking up at me with a grin on her face as I panted.

One look at her pleased expression was all it took. I stood quickly, and, grasping her under the arms, lifted her up and laid her on her back on top of my desk. I shoved the fabric of her dress up to her hips, and then reached underneath, finding the little white panties, and ripped them right off of her body. That done, I dove into her wet sex, burying my face in her hot lips, licking up all of the juices that had collected there. I moaned at the deliciousness of her taste as I continued to tease her.

"Oh Dr Cullen.... aaaaahhhhhh.... so good...."

_Dr. Cullen....love that!_

Between her taste and her sounds and hearing her call me Dr Cullen as I pleasured her, my cock had already achieved a full erection again. And it was desperate to be inside of her. But first, I would make her cum.

I brought my tongue up to her clit, applying pressure to it and flicking it over and over. She was writhing on my desktop, moaning and muttering completely incoherent thoughts. I brought my fingers up and slipped two of them inside of her, drawing a long, low groan from her as I began pumping them in and out of her tight slit. While my fingers worked on her, I used my tongue to make figure eights on her little nub.

_Oh god, she tastes so good..._

"Dr Cullen, so close!...God, so close!"

I used my other hand to reach up to the zipper of her dress, pulling it down quickly and reaching inside. I found lace covering her breasts, and pulled it out of my way. Grabbing onto her nipple, I gave it a pinch, which at the same time curling my fingers inside of her to reach her most sensitive spot, and lightly biting her clit. She screamed out my name as she came forcefully, arching her back high up off of my desk.

"Ssshhhhhh, sweetheart! You have to keep you voice down!" I commanded.

"Oh god, Dr. Cullen, that was incredible!"

I stood up, and set my hands on either side of her face on the desktop, leaning my body down over her. My arousal brushed against her thigh in the process. I brought my mouth to her ear and whispered directly into it.

"_You_ are incredible, Isabella. Tell me, do you want me? Do you want me to take you right here on my desk?"

"God, yes, Dr. Cullen, please!"

"No need to beg, sweetheart. I'm more than willing to give you what you want."

With that, I slid my full length into her, both of us groaning at the overwhelming feeling of our connection. I was nearly overwhelmed by the heat of her - no matter how many times I was inside of her, it never failed to affect me any less.

"God, Isabella, you feel so damn good..."

"I love the way you feel inside me, Dr. Cullen," she replied.

I set a quick rhythm, suddenly remembering that I was still on duty in the ER and could be interrupted at any moment. Somehow, though, that thought made my cock swell even further.

I pumped in and out of her, our tongues passionately dancing together. Her fingers were attempting to bury themselves in the flesh of my shoulders, and mine were wrapped in her hair. I could feel her grip tightening and the muscles of her legs, which were now wrapped around my back, tensing, and I knew that she was close.

"Oh Isabella...hell....so good...uuuuggghhhh....I'm close..."

"Aaahhhh...Dr Cullen...please....god....gonna cum!"

"Yeah, baby...now Isabella, now!"

I thrust into her one last time, my venom filling her as her walls clenched around me, and I kissed her hard as we came to keep us both from drawing attention to ourselves.

Once we had ridden out our orgasms, I let myself fall down over her, both of us breathing hard and the strong, fast beat of her heart pulsing directly under the place where my own should be.

We stayed that way for a few moments before I stood up, pulling my boxer briefs and scrub pants back up before pulling my beautiful wife off the desk and settling us both in my chair with her in my lap. I held her close, her face nuzzled into the crook of my neck. We sat that way for several minutes before our peaceful afterglow was interrupted by the buzzing of my pager.

"Bella, my love, I have to go. There is a trauma arriving in a few minutes, and I'm needed. I'm sorry, sweetheart, I'd stay here and hold you all day if I could."

"It's alright, honey. Go save some lives, and then come home to me when you're finished," she replied, giving me one last sweet kiss before standing up and adjusting her dress. She walked over to the coat rack and began to hide her naughty little costume once again with her coat.

I stood as well, making sure that my clothes were all righted, and then noticed that my desk had moved about fifteen inches forward of its initial position, and returned it to it's correct position. Once all was settled, I made my way over to Bella, wrapping my arms around her waist, and giving her one last kiss.

"Feel free to visit me at work anytime, sweetheart," I said with a grin.

She giggled lightly and the two of us left my office, she walking down the hall to the left toward the exit, and I toward the ambulance bay to await the incoming trauma, feeling much more relaxed than I had before Bella's visit.

_My wife is an incredible woman._

**A/N: Ok all, that was for everyone who hoped for Bella's fantasy to come true. I sure hope you enjoyed it! **

**The next chapter will bring us to Dr and Mrs Cullen's European trip. Where will they go, what will they see? Send me a review and you'll get a little hint!**


	16. 15 Going Greek

**A/N: Thanks for all your reviews on the last chapter. It seemed that you all enjoyed Bella playing out her fantasy nearly as much as she and Carlisle did, lol. This chapter brings us to their first stop on the European vacation (somehow, saying that makes me feel like I am going to write about the Griswold family...). **

**Please forgive my late update. I have had a migraine headache for seven straight days and finally went to the doctor today. Unfortunately, being so late in my pregnancy, there's not much they can do for me besides Tylenol with Codine, but that stuff makes me loopy. Oh well, guess I'll just suffer. **

**At any rate, my daughter's birthday is Wednesday, and these trip chapters involve a bit more research. So I plan on having the next chapter up for you on Friday, and then I'll try to get you an extra one over the weekend as well. **

**As usual, I remind you that Stephenie Meyer is the proud owner of all things Twilight. **

Chapter 15: Going Greek

BPOV

Our time in Hanover had come to its end, and Carlisle and I were off once again to see the world. The first stop on our journey was Athens, Greece. As excited as I was to get there, saying goodbye to my siblings once again hadn't been the easiest thing to do. My honeymoon had been nothing less than a dream come true, but I had missed them nonetheless. This trip would be even longer. As we sat in our first class seats on the flight from Boston to Greece, I tried to push the sadness away and just be happy.

Carlisle must have noticed the shift in my mood, and responded by wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into his chest. I rested my head against his cold, hard chest, letting the comforting feeling of being close to him wash over me.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" He asked quietly, concern evident in his eyes.

"Nothing, Carlisle. I was just thinking about the others and how much I'll miss them. But I promise, I won't miss them so much that I'd rather stay home - I am so excited about this trip with you."

"You call them as often as you need to, alright?"

I nodded in response, cuddling further into him. He smiled in return, his face glowing with its warmth, and kissed me gently on the forehead.

"I love you, Bella Cullen," he said.

"As I love you," I replied.

Twelve hours later we landed in Athens. I was nearly sleepwalking as we made our way through the airport and into a taxi to the hotel.

The next morning, I woke up in our room at the Athens Gate Hotel, wrapped securely in Carlisle's arms.

"Good morning, my love. Feeling better?"

"I will be once you've kissed me," I said, grinning coyly at my husband.

He reached under my chin and tilted my face up to his, barely brushing my lips with his own several times before kissing me fully.

"Mmmm...much better," I said as he pulled away. "So what is on our agenda today?"

"I thought we'd start our time here with a bit of history. What do you think?"

"There's probably no better place for that, honey."

"I agree. The room service should be here any moment. Why don't you go look out the window while you wait."

I rose from the bed and walked over to the window, pulling back the curtain. I gasped. There, in front of me, was an incredible view of the Parthenon, not five hundred meters from where we stood. It was breathtaking.

"Oh Carlisle, it's amazing!" I exclaimed.

He was suddenly behind me, his hands resting on my stomach as his arms encircled my waist.

"Quite," he agreed. "We're going up there as soon as you're ready."

I made an effort to eat, shower and dress as quickly as possible, and then we left the hotel. Thanks to Carlisle's careful planning with Alice, we had several days of overcast skies for our trip, a rarity in Greece.

The acropolis was very close to the hotel, but as the walk was entirely uphill, Carlisle insisted on giving me a piggyback ride. I knew it was easy for him physically, but I couldn't help but wonder as we hiked up the hill whether it made him feel silly to carry me this way in public. To make up for any amount of discomfort, I peppered his neck with kisses as he walked. Well, at least until the halfway point.

"Bella..." he said in a voice so gravelly that it was nearly a growl.

"What is it honey?" I asked innocently.

"It would be entirely inappropriate for me to lay you down on this road and have my way with you, but if you keep up your teasing, I might just do it."

_Why was the mere suggestion of that enough to dampen my panties?_

Another low growl came from deep in his chest.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I cried. "I'll behave."

A few minutes later, we arrived at the top of the hill, no worse for wear. Standing next to the temple that I had seen in so many history books in the past, I was in awe. It was so much more than any picture could ever show. Right beside one of the columns, I felt tiny, insignificant even. These columns, which had withstood thousands of years, still stood proudly, bearing their burden. I admired the ancient Greeks who had constructed them - truly an impressive feat! - and the strength they had been imbibed with. I only hoped that I could display a fraction of that strength when the need for it arose.

Carlisle and I walked all around the structure, examining it from all angles. Despite the construction work being done to restore the building, it was still beautiful. As we approached the Erechthium, where instead of columns, the roof is held up by the heads of the statues of six maidens, I wondered to myself what the ancient Greeks might have intended with this statement. Why not young men? Perhaps they were telling us that women were the rock that holds up a home? It made me think of Esme - her love had held the Cullens together for so long, had made them strong. She had given that responsibility to me. I could only hope that I would meet her expectations.

Finally, we made our way to the part of the acropolis where the flagpole flies the flag of Greece. Standing there, we had an incredible view of the city of Athens that seemed to go on forever. Looking down, I couldn't help but be amazed at the fact that we stood next to a temple, built thousands of years ago, only meters away from a modern city. We could see more ruins spread throughout the city as well, the ancient mixing with the modern as if it was the most natural thing in the world. In a way, I could see it as an analogy to my relationship with Carlisle - even though the age difference between the old and the new was much more pronounced among the structures of Athens, ours was a huge gap for living things. The way the two of us fit so perfectly together, as if we were meant to be together, was not unlike the city we saw in front of us. I wondered if he saw that when he looked out from this mountain.

Once we had fully explored the area, we walked back down into the city to find some lunch. Still on my mission to try as many things as possible, I decided to eat all local cuisine while on this trip, and settled on a gyro for lunch. Once I was sated, Carlisle and I walked through the city for awhile, stopping to see several ancient sites, including Hadrian's Arch and Library, the Roman Agora, and the old Olympic Stadium. At each stop, I was once again awed and inspired, but never so much as I had been at the Parthenon.

Making our way back in the direction of the hotel, we stopped at a small restaurant for dinner. After dinner, Carlisle let me know that he had some surprise plans for our evening. We walked hand in hand back towards the acropolis, until we reached a high rock with stairs leading to it's top.

"Let me carry you, sweetheart. I've been told these stairs are quite slippery," he said.

He lifted me up, bridal-style, and carried me up the stairs. When we reached the top, I breathed a sigh of wonder.

"This is the rock of Areopagos," Carlisle explained. "It's the spot from which St. Paul spoke to the Athenians in 51 AD."

I looked all around - from where we stood, we had a view almost as impressive as from the top of the acropolis. Carlisle sat down on the flat surface of the rock below us, and pulled me down onto his lap. From where we sat, thanks to the clouds from the day moving further west, we had a glorious view of the night sky, filled with more stars than I had expected to see anywhere but in the middle of the ocean.

We sat there together for nearly an hour before Carlisle noticed my yawning.

"Are you tired already Bella?" He asked, looking down at his watch. It was barely nine o'clock.

"I'm sorry, honey. It must just be jet lag. I know it's early, but I can't believe how tired I am."

"That's alright, sweetheart. We'll just get you back to the hotel so you can sleep."

He carried me all the way back, and it took a great amount of effort for me to stay awake until we arrived in our room. I quickly changed into pajamas and crawled into bed beside Carlisle, barely kissing him goodnight before falling into a deep sleep.

The next morning I woke up to Carlisle's soft kisses along my jawbone. "Good morning, sweetheart," he whispered between kisses.

I turned my face toward him, acknowledging his greeting with a light kiss. "Morning, honey," I mumbled, still a little groggy. "What time is it?"

"It's after ten, my love. I thought you might want to get up before noon," he added, teasingly.

I was shocked by the lateness of the hour, and jumped out of bed quickly. Carlisle and I had planned to spend the day exploring the National Archeological Museum, and by the time I got ready, we'd have wasted half the day already. I rushed into the bathroom to shower, and then came over to my suitcase. When I opened it, I couldn't help but laugh. I could see that Alice had packed in a very organized fashion. On the top of the bag was a note.

_My dearest sister, _

_I took the liberty to help you pack, knowing you're practically useless at things like this on your own. The bag is all organized for you by days until you get to Spain. I figured Carmen could help you out then. At any rate, just follow my instructions, I Saw that everything would be perfect. Have fun! _

_Love Alice_

My clothing was arranged in little bags, each one with the date written on it and containing all I would need for that particular day. I picked up the bag with the right date and took out my outfit. Alice had chosen for me a teal crinkle chiffon top with a beaded neckline and hem and a gathered waist, paired with a pair of cream skinny jeans and navy ballet flats. There was also a shoulder bag in a navy, turquoise, cream and teal geometric print. I dressed and pulled my hair into a low ponytail at the nape of my neck before going back into the bedroom. Carlisle was waiting for me there, wearing a navy polo over khaki cargo pants, looking casual and cool at the same time.

We spent hours walking through the museum, which is known to be one of the best, if not the best, archeological collections in the world. We were thoroughly enjoying ourselves, discussing our opinions on the different styles of ancient art, from pottery to wall paintings and statues and everything in between, when we came to a room filled with several large marble statues. We came to a stop in front of a large statue of Aphrodite from the second century AD. We stood silently for a moment, admiring the workmanship that stood before us.

Suddenly, Carlisle's lips were at my ear. "Aphrodite was the goddess of love, beauty, and sexual rapture. Yet standing before you, she is unimpressive."

I blushed at his words.

"Look, my love, really look at her," he commanded, his voice taking on a huskier tone. "Her face, so perfect in its creation, cannot hold a candle to the sweetness and expressiveness of yours. Her eyes have no depth, while yours know no limit. If she were here now, she would be jealous of you, Mrs. Cullen. Her breasts may be lovely, but they are nowhere near as full and luscious as yours."

At the last sentence, his hand had come dangerously close to cupping my breast, and I knew we were walking a fine line. If I didn't step away now, we would certainly never be allowed in this museum again.

"You are too kind, Dr. Cullen. Now let's go see some more statues in the next room."

Carlisle followed, though not before he gave me a look of utter dejection. I shook my head at him and led him into the next room. This one also contained statues, but these were made of bronze. We walked through the room slowly, examining each one carefully. It was in front of the statue of Zeus that my studious demeanor crumbled.

"Why are you smirking, wife?" Carlisle asked, clearly amused.

"Well, it's... See..."

"Are you having trouble with the words, my dear?" He teased.

"No, I'm...Argh! Ok, I was thinking about my first impressions of the men in your family back when I was seventeen."

"Why would you think of this now?"

"Because I always compared you with Greek gods," I explained.

His teasing smile disappeared, and he suddenly appeared behind me again, his lips pressed against my ear.

"And how do I compare?" He whispered in a low voice.

"You by far exceed all expectations...especially in the, um, lower regions..." I replied, surely blushing a deep shade of red.

"Are you saying my cock is bigger than that of Zeus?" He asked, want thick in his voice.

_Two can play this game, Carlisle Cullen._

"You know, I'm not entirely sure. Perhaps we should return to the hotel and check."

The words had barely left my mouth before I found myself being carried out of the front door of the museum. I could tell that Carlisle was struggling to remain at a human speed, and not doing so well at it, in fact. I couldn't help but laugh at this man who could get himself so worked up while looking at ancient artwork. But he was mine, and I wasn't going to complain.

We spent the rest of that afternoon in bed, making love three times, with me taking short naps between each. It was eventually determined that Carlisle was, in fact, more well endowed than Zeus.

Thanks to Alice's predictions, we knew that the next two days would be sunny. Carlisle had, of course, planned ahead for that, and rented a yacht for us to cruise around the Greek isles. This gave us the opportunity to take in the scenery as well as enjoy a little bit of sun. Furthermore, to the pleasure of my husband, it also gave me another opportunity to wear a bikini. _Really, this man was too easy to please._

We sailed for a day and a half, spending one night in the Aegean Sea. Every second of the trip was accompanied by a breathtaking view. All around us was clear turquoise water, with dark green hills rising out of it at unpredictable intervals. It was spectacular.

At Alice's insistence, I wore her gift from my wedding shower - the babydoll that was reminiscent of ancient Greece - the night we spent on the yacht. Carlisle proclaimed that, when I wore it, I put Aphrodite even deeper into her shame. I couldn't help but be amazed that he truly saw me that way, but I knew that Carlisle was nothing if not sincere when he spoke.

Our final day in Greece was spent at the Athens Municipal Gallery, viewing about two thousand five hundred pieces, all by Greek artists. Most of the works were from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and there was a wide variety when it came to the mediums used. One of our favorites was a sculpture called "The Fisherman".

We spent the morning exploring the gallery before finding a nearby restaurant for lunch and then taking a taxi to the airport.

Our trip to Greece now coming to an end, I contemplated every moment of it as I sat in the international terminal awaiting our flight to the next location on our trip. I thought of all of the places and sights that had given me pause to reflect on my life, the world, and my place in it. I thought of all of the intimate moments that Carlisle and I shared, whether they were romantic or sexual, they had all been so perfect. I think that my favorite was sitting on the rock of Areopagos and staring up at the stars while he held me in his arms. In all that time that we sat, we barely spoke - there was no need for words then - but instead basked in the love and the joy that radiated off of both of us as if Jasper was there too. And finally, I contemplated the meaning of eternity. Somehow, the word seemed to have more meaning after standing next to structures which had endured thousands of years. I knew now, that forever with Carlisle could be the same - perhaps thousands of years, or even more - and despite that, it would never be enough. My love for him was so deep that it would never run out. And I knew without a doubt that he felt the same.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed Greece. If you'd like a preview of the next chapter, send me a review! **


	17. 16 Viva la Italia

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Chapter 16: Viva la Italia

CPOV

We arrived in Rome in the evening, and, once again, Bella was feeling rather sleepy, so we went directly to our hotel. I had reserved the presidential suite at the Grand Hotel Plaza for our stay, and upon our arrival, found that it was even more impressive than what I had seen online when making the arrangements.

The lobby and public areas of the hotel were extraordinary, decorated with extravagance and opulence from the ceilings to the floor. Our room came with a beautiful four-poster canopy bed and a terrace that overlooked the Spanish Steps and the Trinita dei Monti. Both Bella and I were amazed by our accommodations, Bella, of course, swearing I had gone over the top. She still has not completely accepted that nothing could ever be too much for her.

Knowing we had a big day ahead of us, I laid with Bella until she fell asleep and then ran out for a quick hunt. Honestly, Italy, especially being so close to Rome, was not the best location for good hunting, so I was forced to run quite far out before finding any real options. I was, however, lucky enough to come upon a lynx in addition to the two roe deer that I took down. Sated, then, I ran back into the city to shower and lay beside my wife until the morning.

The next morning found the two of us standing in St. Peter's square, awed by the sheer size of the sight before us. The square was surrounded by marble columns that stretched out from St. Peter's Basilica as though they were arms reaching out to embrace the visitors. We spent a bit of time wandering around the square, and more than once I turned suddenly, struck by the feeling of being watched. I am used to being stared at a bit, what with the paleness of my skin and the inherent strangeness that I, as a vampire, possess, but this was something different. It felt like a constant gaze, not one made in passing, and it was enough to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I looked all around me, trying to find the source of the sensation, but saw no one suspicious.

Sure that it was my own imagination, I slipped my arm around Bella's waist and led her into St. Peter's Basilica, the church that lies at the center of the Roman Catholic faith. As a boy and a young man in my human years, growing up the son of an Anglican pastor in seventeenth century England, I was taught that Roman Catholicism was heretical and something to be admonished. After several hundred years of this planet, however, I have come to have a healthy respect for all branches of faith, for I have seen, in my travels and studies, that they all seem to have a common strand that unites them. I could only imagine what my father would have thought of my standing in this church now. Of course, he most likely would have burned me at the stake himself upon finding out that I was a vampire, so I suppose it's beside the point...

We walked into the center of the church and stood directly underneath the dome. I chanced a quick glance down at the tiny woman by my side, and saw that her deep chocolate eyes were even larger than usual as she struggled to take in the impressive sight before us. It took me a moment to tear my eyes away from her - her beauty was like a magnet to me, always pulling me closer - but I did, and finally looked around me. Even with vampire sight, I found it difficult to understand the building with any sense of spatial reasoning. Standing there made me feel so very small, the church towering around us as it we were some sort of tiny insect.

We explored the museums together, both of us finding ourselves rather overcome when we reached the Sistine Chapel. It was so grand, so beautiful and so much larger than either of us had ever expected. As I stared up at the ceiling that Michelangelo had been suspended under for years as he painted the stories of creation - his masterpiece - I thought about God, about our world, and about my family. It was true that I had lost two of them, though gained another. Overall, I had created a family of five, soon-to-be six, vampires who shared a belief in the value of human life, who lived together in peace and with relationships built on love, not only for our mates, but for each member of the family. I had made the best of the fate handed to me, and in doing so, I believed, had created my own masterpiece.

I sighed contentedly and kissed the top of Bella's head, letting the serenity of the moment wash over my being.

Once Bella and I had seen all there was to see at the Vatican Museums, we left to find her some dinner. As we sat in the restaurant talking about some of the beautiful artwork we had viewed earlier in the day, I noticed Bella yawning.

"Come, my love, you look exhausted. Shall we return to out suite?"

"Yes, honey, let's do that," she replied.

We returned to the hotel and I laid her down on the bed, where she, much like the night before, was asleep almost the moment her head touched her pillow. I took my place next to her, enclosing her tiny frame in my strong arms and holding her close to me, her hair just under my nose, letting me breathe in her heavenly scent.

As I lay there, I began to think about my wife. Well, perhaps worry is a better word. For as long as we had been together, I could always count on Bella's, um, stamina. I don't necessarily mean sexually, I just mean that, in general, for a creature who requires sleep, she's done quite well at keeping up with her vampire husband, usually not giving in to the urge to sleep until the early hours of the morning. But since our arrival in Greece, and even a bit before that, now that I thought about it, she had been so very tired, and had been sleeping earlier each night and staying asleep until later each morning.

Had there been no other symptoms, I probably would have discounted this lethargy as jet lag or simply a case of her life finally catching up to her. However, there were other symptoms. There was the change in her scent to consider. I honestly hadn't noticed it until Jasper had pointed it out, but now that I had, it concerned me. Especially in combination with her fatigue. Was I, in fact, slowly changing her with the venom I shared with her as we made love? And if I was, was that a good thing or not? Despite being tired, she showed no sign that she was ill or in pain, so perhaps the slow change would be easy on her, unlike the usual way...?

And if this was not the case, what else was there to explain her condition?

I laid in the bed for hours pondering these questions, until I noticed the first light of dawn coming through the curtains. Having come no further in answering my own questions, I pushed my thoughts further back into my mind and brought my concentration back to the beauty lying by my side. I thought for awhile about how happy she'd made me - Bella made me feel free, somehow releasing me from the constraints I had placed upon myself and allowing me to simply _be._ Truly, she brought something so special to me, and to our family. I knew she was irreplaceable.

Just then, her voice came, soft and sweet, through her sleep, giving me a glimpse of her dreams. "Love you, Carlisle...forever."

I felt warmth spread through me as I heard the words, reminding me that, even in her unconscious state, her heart had not forgotten me. I couldn't help myself, my love for her suddenly becoming overwhelming, and began placing soft gentle kisses over her shoulder, simply trying to convey my love, but not to wake her.

Several hours later, Bella was awake and fed, and we were on our way to the Colosseum. I had seen it before, many years ago, during the time of my travels in Europe and my stay with the Volturi, but I knew it would be equally impressive this time.

I was not wrong. We stood together on the balcony level, looking out over the area below, in sheer awe. I couldn't help but think about the ancients, who, with their very limited technology compared to today, were able to build such structures as this and those that we had seen the week before in Athens. I thought of how difficult the work must have been, and how intelligent they must have been who designed the structure. While an arena such as this might be commonplace today, those that designed it could easily compare with the architects who today create the most impressive buildings.

As we stood there, looking down at the arena where once men fought to the death with both each other and with beasts, I suddenly had the feeling of eyes boring into my back. I turned quickly, almost too much so, and looked all around me. I saw nothing, however, to give me cause for worry. I dismissed the feeling as merely the product of my overactive imagination.

"You know, it's kind of strange, when you think about it," Bella said, bringing me back from my thoughts.

"What's that, dear?"

"These days, we fill stadiums like this to watch bloodless sporting events. The ancients would fill this stadium to watch people and animals be slaughtered ruthlessly, for entertainment."

"Yes, the Romans were a rather macabre civilization, there's no denying that," I said with a chuckle. "Amazing architects, though."

Bella's musical laugh filled my ears. "It_ is_ possible to be one without the other," she said, teasingly.

I grinned back at her, happy just to share a moment of quiet laughter with my love.

"You know, we came here once, the whole family, on a vacation in the 1960s. Emmett and Jasper nearly destroyed the entire building."

"What?!" Bella cried, her eyes wide with shock. "How on earth...?"

"Well, Emmett, being Emmett, was doing his best to irritate Edward that night - we had come, of course, late in the night when no humans would be around, as Jasper was still quite new to the lifestyle at that point - and Edward's irritation started to get the best of Jasper. Emmett noticed, and stepped up his efforts, trying to see what effect if might have on Jasper.

Once Jasper was sufficiently riled, Emmett turned his teasing onto him directly. Jasper, by that point quickly losing control of himself, lunged at Emmett. It was only Alice's vision combined with Edward's mind reading that prevented the two from crashing right through that wall just down there. Alice later informed us that the wall they would have hit was a load-bearing one, and between the mere age of the structure and the combined force of two vampires, it would have caused the entire colosseum to collapse."

"Oh my god.... Really, only my brothers," Bella laughed, shaking her head.

"Yes, we've had quite the job reining them in over the years, there's no question about that," I said, my voice filled with mirth. It was undoubtedly the truth, but I knew that I wouldn't trade the boys for anything.

We finished our tour of the Colosseum, and then took a taxi in the direction of the Pantheon, stopping first to let Bella take her lunch in a small restaurant serving a wide selection of pasta dishes. I sat next to her at the table while she waited for her food, mindlessly running my fingers through her hair and placing soft kisses on her collarbone, but then giving her space to eat once her lunch arrived.

While she ate, I, for the second time that day, could not shake the feeling that I was being stared at. I glanced around, and saw nothing. This was quite an unusual feeling for me, and it was making me very uncomfortable. Excusing myself from the table, I walked all around the restaurant, looking for anyone who I had seen earlier in the day or who was in any way suspicious to me. I found nothing. I inhaled deeply as I walked, searching for any scent that was familiar, but again, nothing. Finally, unable to explain my own paranoia, I returned to my wife, who was now slightly nervous herself thanks to my strange behavior. I reassured her that it was nothing, and took her hand to my lips, gently kissing her soft skin. I doubted that she would accept that answer, but luckily she did, as it really was the truth, as far as I knew.

After lunch we made our visit to the Pantheon. This building was so incredible to me, not only for its architectural beauty or its size, but for what it stood for. This was the first building made for the masses to worship, making it the forefather of every church, synagogue, mosque, and temple built afterwards. And here it is, thousands of years later, still standing in all it's glory, completely preserved, drawing in visitors. I have always wondered about this myself, if perhaps God himself protected this building so it could serve as a reminder to mankind that religion is meant for all, not merely the few.

The first time I ever saw the Pantheon was during my stay with the Volturi. I can remember returning to them in Volterra, still basking in the awe of what I had seen that day. It had led to a great debate with the brothers, especially Caius.

_"Why are you so impressed, dear Carlisle?" Aro asked when I entered the throne room early the morning of my return._

_"I have just come from visiting the Pantheon, Aro, and I cannot help but be impressed by the building itself, as well as what it represents. I stand in awe of God, who gave man the ability to create such things, and then himself protects them." _

_Caius scoffed. "Carlisle, don't speak so foolishly, you will make a laughingstock of yourself." _

_I looked to him, confused, and he rolled his eyes at me before continuing._

_"You have lived but a century, Carlisle, you have seen little of this world. My brothers and I, on the other hand, who have been on this earth for thousands of years already, have seen much. Do you really believe in this god of which you speak?"_

_"Of course, Caius. Why would I not?"_

_He breathed a deep sigh, and spoke to me as if I was a small child. I detested it, but listened politely. "In all of these years, we have seen horror after horror, have seen the men following, like sheep, god after god. Now it has been a long time where the belief in Christianity has been popular. But I ask you, Carlisle, you who are immortal like myself, how you can believe in a god who dies, when you yourself will not. How can you worship one less impressive than yourself?"_

_I knew then that he did not, and never would, understand, and did my best to end the conversation quickly. _

When Bella and I finished examining the building from the outside, we stepped through the doors. Remembering the way I felt the first time I entered so many years ago, I wrapped my arm securely around my wife as we walked through the door. It was no surprise when I felt her waver in my arms as we stepped into the great domed room. Like at St. Peter's, the building was designed to make one feel tiny inside of it, just as one should feel tiny in front of God. The dome - the largest brick dome ever created - is a perfect circle, and rises as high as it's diameter, with a hole, called the oculus, in the center, letting the sunlight enter the room. The walls and the dome are amazingly beautiful, and there alternates columns and niches holding statues of the gods and goddesses around the circumference of the room. It is truly a sight to behold.

"Oh Carlisle, it's incredible," breathed Bella, her wide eyes barely blinking as she took in the room.

"It is, sweetheart. And imagine, we stand in it today just as the Romans did two thousand years ago - it has not changed. Even the floor on which we stand is the same, walked upon by emperors and commoners alike, for thousands of years."

We took it in, walking around the room to examine each statue and each bit of decoration, for well over an hour. When we had finished, we took a ride in one of the horse-drawn carriages outside, exploring the old city that still stood around the Pantheon, before catching a taxi back to the hotel. Once again, Bella was feeling rather tired, and I thought it was better to let her rest.

The next day dawned, and we had several hours to visit the museums before catching our train to Venice. We spent the early morning in the MAXXI National Museum of 21st Century Arts before going to the place we had been excited about for days - the Galleria Borghese. This museum, which is made up of the collection owned by Cardinal Borghese, was quite incredible. Bella and I especially enjoyed the statues of Bernini, but our favorite piece was Titian's _Sacred and Profane Love_. We stood in front of it, studying it, for twelve minutes and thirty seconds in near silence before sharing our thoughts with each other. The work has been misinterpreted many times, but I was not surprised when Bella's ideas on the painting reflected the artist's original intention of exalting both earthly and heavenly love. It was another piece that I would willingly pay any amount of money to own, but I knew that it was not to be, as the gallery had previously refused several offers of exorbitant amounts for the painting.

One of the reasons I loved it so was because of the obvious understanding of Titian that, by admiring the beauty of creation, one could further develop their appreciation of God himself. I squeezed Bella's hand and placed a light kiss to the top of her head, acknowledging to myself that her beauty would captivate me for eternity.

We reached the Metropole Hotel late in that night after riding the train from Rome. I had noticed that same odd sensation of having eyes upon me while we waited for our train at the station, but once again found no cause for worry, and had boarded the train with confidence that whatever was causing my paranoia in Rome would soon be hundreds of miles away from us.

Finding our suite, we once again marveled at the opulence of Italy. The walls of our room were hung with silk, and the room furnished with pieces that were quite obviously authentic Venetian antiques. The whole room was decorated in shades of gold and cream, making me feel immediately at home. I noticed a large tub in the bathroom, and made a mental note tomorrow to take a long, hot bath with my wife to enjoy it. For now, though, it was late, and I would let my lovely Bella get some rest.

After breakfast the next morning, Bella and I walked from the hotel to Gallerie dell'Accademia, which is known as the best art museum in Venice. We spent the entire morning, and a good portion of the afternoon, walking through it hand in hand, admiring all of the works. We saw several more of Bellini's statues, as well as Titian's final work, a haunting piece known as Pieta.

It was Lorenzo Lotto's _Portrait of a Gentleman in his Study_ which had the deepest effect on me, however. When I looked at this piece, I couldn't help but see myself in Lotto's subject, who was mourning the loss of his love. The emptiness in the man's face looked so much like I had looked years ago after losing Esme, and I couldn't help but realize the change that I had gone through since those earlier days. I was no longer an empty shell of a man, but instead I was a man filled with joy and hope and love, completely fulfilled by all three. All thanks to Bella.

Standing in front of that painting, I tightened my hold on Bella's waist and leaned down, bringing my mouth closer to her ear.

"I love you so much, Isabella Cullen. You have altered me so completely and made me so very happy. I could never find the words to express how deep my love runs for you. You are my wife, my best friend and my love, and I will love you for every moment of eternity."

She looked up at me with tears in her eyes, bringing her tiny hand up to cup my cheek. "And I will love you, Carlisle, until the sun grows cold, with every bit of my heart," she whispered in reply, recognizing my words as those I spoke upon proposing to her and engraved into her wedding band, and answering me back in kind.

I kissed her softly, letting her feel my love through my lips. "It was not into my ear that you whispered now, Bella, but into my heart. And your lips kiss directly into my soul. You are what makes me alive, my beautiful Bella."

We left the museum, then, and I took her directly back to the hotel and made slow, sweet love to her.

I finally convinced Bella to leave the comfort of our bed and go to a nearby restaurant for dinner around seven, and we returned to the hotel afterwards for the bath that I had promised myself. It was plenty big for the two of us, and I made sure to fill it with very hot water to counter the effects of my ice cold body. We climbed into the tub, me leaning up against the marble and she against my chest, with her head nestled into the my chest just below my collarbone. We sat that way for nearly forty minutes, discussing art, love, and our lives. I couldn't help but notice, as I held her naked body against my own, the slight, subtle changes in her physique. Had I not been a vampire, it would have certainly not been enough to tell, but I could appreciate a slight widening of her hips and filling of her breasts, as well as more accented curvature to her waistline. I remembered Rosalie and Esme both having a similar change in the shape of their bodies after I bit them, though it was less pronounced in Esme, for she had already given birth to a child at the time of her change. I couldn't be sure that there was any connection between the cases, but decided not to worry about it, and to instead appreciate the glorious heaven that was Bella's body.

The next day, our last day in Italy, was spent exploring the city of Venice. We walked the small streets that lined the series of canals and marveled at the way the city had been built directly upon the water. It seemed to be quite the feat of engineering and planning, since it had remained for so many years despite the logical expectation for its quick and utter destruction by the water. We admired the gothic architecture of St Mark's Basilica, and stopped in several small shops along our path to pick up gifts for our family.

I was surprised when several times along our walk, I felt the hair-raising sensation of being watched yet again. At one point, I left Bella in a small shop and walked a perimeter around it, searching for the source. But I found nothing that I could connect to my suspicions, no scent that seemed familiar, no person (or vampire even) who looked at all familiar. I didn't understand why I continued to imagine such strangeness, but I hoped that it would not continue into our next location. I wasn't sure how much longer I could handle such paranoia and delusion.

That evening, after Bella had eaten dinner, I took her down to the canal for a gondola ride under the moonlight. Having provided a rather generous tip to the gondolier, we had a forty-five minute tour of the city that was accompanied by his clean tenor voice singing Italian songs to us. Our time was rather equally divided between kissing and watching the scenery. Well, Bella may have watched the scenery, I mostly watched her, enraptured by the beauty that was her wide-eyed admiration of the city surrounding us.

I realized, as we sat in that small boat, that everything we had seen in Italy had brought a memory back to me, from the amusing memories of Emmett and Jasper in Rome to the heart breaking thoughts of my lost family members. And now, each of these places would have a new memory attached to them, a memory of experiencing the beauty of Italy with Bella. I knew that nothing we saw could compare to her beauty, but also that the love that would fill each memory would sustain them in my mind forever.

**A/N: Once again, I apologize for posting a day late. Really, two weeks of headache is not helping my writing one bit, since I can't stand to stare at the screen of my laptop for very long at once. But it's done, and the next chapter is much easier and already more than half-written in my head anyways, so it shouldn't be much of a wait for it. (I hope!)**

**I hope you enjoyed Carlisle's thoughts in Italy. Please, take no offense at any religious commentary that may have been made in this chapter. We all know that Carlisle has always held on to a strong belief in God according to SM, and I let him express some of that here. Caius, on the other hand, we know is a pompus ass who thinks himself better than everyone, including, apparently, any god. **

**Now, what was going on with Carlisle this chapter? Who was following him? Probably not who you expect. Get a hint by sending me a review. The next chapter will be filled with information!**


	18. 17 Coming Together

**A/N: Thank you SO much for all the reviews on the last chapter! I was shocked to open my inbox and see over 50 responses! I am thoroughly grateful for your support on this project. **

**Onto other business, I am very pleased to announce that after 15 days and 1 good professional massage, my headache is GONE!!!! So I should do a little better on updates (no promises, but I will definitely try) from now on. This quick update is my way of saying thanks for sticking with me!**

**We are back to Caius's POV this chapter, so it's time for us to find out a bit more of what he's planning. Just how devious is this guy? Read and find out!**

**Once again, I do not own Twilight, I am just taking liberties with Stephenie Meyer's creation.**

Chapter 17: Coming Together

Caius POV

I was in the throne room that evening, attempting to allay the boredom of the day by playing a game of chess with Aro while Marcus stood staring out the window without moving as if he was a statue. I have always been a better player than Aro, being the better strategist, and was only a few moves away from my next victory. I won most every game we played, but I never ceased to take pleasure in reminding him of my superiority.

Suddenly, a knock at the door intruded on our quiet. I assumed it was the announcement that dinner had arrived, and was annoyed that it had come a few minutes too early for me to claim my success.

The door opened and Corin entered. "Masters?" He called in a reverent voice.

"Entrato," called Aro. We waited a moment for Corin to cross to the center of the room. "What is it Corin?"

"Masters, Heidi has returned from fishing. She brings news for you as well. Will you see her?"

"Bring her in," I said.

I wondered what news she might have. Most likely it would be the presence of nomads near her fishing route and the announcement of said nomad's pending visit to Volterra.

"Hello masters," she said, bowing her head to each of us. "I only wanted to inform you that I saw Carlisle Cullen in Rome while I was fishing. I thought you would like to know."

"He is in Rome?!" I asked, barely covering my fury. _How dare he flaunt his rule-breaking in our own country!_

"Is he with his wife?" asked Aro, obviously curious. The fool was far too interested in the Cullen's human.

"I saw no other vampire with him," Heidi reported.

_Of course you didn't, Heidi - the deviant prefers humans, though only for the wrong reasons._

"Thank you, Heidi. We will join you momentarily in the feeding room," I said, dismissing her. I couldn't let my idiot brother inform her of Carlisle's flagrant lawbreaking - none should know that the Volturi had allowed such an aberrant lapse of justice! This was a situation that needed dealing with, and luckily, I was just the vampire to deal with it.

An hour later, freshly fed, I met Chelsea in my private chambers. I had recruited Chelsea weeks ago, after I first found out about Aro and Marcus's nefarious plotting, to help me in my endeavors. She had demanded a full partnership, wherein I would make her my equal and we would rule the vampire world together after we succeeded in our mission. I laughed as I thought of her presumption. I agreed to her condition, but only because I knew that she would never live to see her aspirations achieved - I would see to that.

"Why did you call me here, Caius?" she demanded. _Bitch - she needs to learn to talk to me with respect!_

"Something has come up. I need your assistance."

"Is this regarding the operation?"

"Yes. Carlisle Cullen is in Italy. Heidi saw him yesterday in Rome. I want to know what he is doing here - for all we know he is here plotting against _US_!"

"I understand. How are my services required?"

"I want Afton to watch him."

"No! I will not involve Afton in this!"

"It is not your choice, Chelsea. You will do what I ask." _I was still her master, after all, partnership or not. _"He is who we need for this mission. And need I remind you who you have to thank for Afton's existence?"

_Afton was a human who had been brought to us during one of Heidi's fishing expeditions. He was passed to me during feeding, and I sank my teeth into the soft flesh of his neck. After two pulls on his vein, I realized that his blood has no taste. Really, who has no taste at all? I ripped my teeth out of his neck and spit. This bastard was taking all of the pleasure out of my meal! I moved to break his neck when Chelsea screamed at me to stop. Apparently, she was quite taken by the human, and begged me to let him become one of us. In my mercy, I tossed his body, already twitching with the burn of the venom, at her and told her to take care of it herself. Three days later, he woke, and they have been mated ever since._

Chelsea grimaced, obviously remembering the story as well as I did. She sighed audibly, and made her way to the door. "I'll bring him immediately," she said, venom coloring her tone.

I waited for awhile, and was finally rewarded for my patience when Chelsea returned to my room with Afton.

"Buona sera, padrone," Afton greeted. _Well, at least one of them knows his place._ "How may I serve you?"

I raised my eyebrow at Chelsea, impressed. Obviously she had already worked her magic on her mate.

"I need you to go immediately to Rome - there is a vampire there with golden eyes. You must follow him, observe him, and report back to me. Do not allow yourself to be seen!"

"I understand, master. I will not disappoint you."

Afton bid his mate good bye, and then left us to complete his mission, leaving me alone with Chelsea.

"I suppose I'll go back to my chambers now," Chelsea said with a sigh.

"No. We have business to discuss," I stated.

"More?"

"Yes. We need to talk about recruiting more to our cause. I have a suspicion that Afton will bring us back information that proves Carlisle is a danger to us. We need to be prepared to face such a danger. I have been thinking about who might be beneficial to us, but I would like to hear your thoughts on the matter. Now, who do you suggest we recruit?"

"I don't know, perhaps Felix would be good - he is a strong fighter. Jane and Alec are valuable as well."

"I agree in regards to Felix, but the twins are not an option. Even if your gift is able to take their loyalty away from Aro, his relationship with them is too strong. Using them would make it much more difficult to keep our plans from him - we don't need him to become suspicious."

"You're right. What about Akiko and Tamotsu?"

"I do not know much of the Japanese coven. Remind me of their benefits?"

"Akiko is somewhat similar to Alec - she can cause temporary blindness - but her gift acts much faster. Tamotsu does not have a gift, but he is quite skilled in martial arts, making him beneficial as a fighter."

"This sounds promising. I believe that it is a good idea to find help from outside the Volturi guard - that will ease the burden of hiding our operation from Aro. We can't have too many of us suddenly refusing to touch his hand. Idiot even as he is, he is not so foolish as to allow that to occur without his notice. We'll need to look in Aro's books to get more information about the other covens in the world, to see who else might benefit us. Perhaps we could bring Demetri in with us. For now we will send him to find the Japanese coven."

"That is a good idea. I will go now and find him."

"Eccellente, grazie. Go now, Chelsea. Come back to me when Afton returns."

Chelsea left, then, and I was once again alone with my thoughts. It was obnoxious to have to rely on Chelsea to get what I wanted, but it was a necessary evil. Her ability to create bonds of loyalty was essential to us. With so many gifted vampires to get through, I was forced to use devious plans to win a victory. My plan was similar to a game of chess, and I knew that my strategizing ability would surely lead to me success, but the means of reaching such success was up to me to discover. I _would_ triumph, though, of that I had no doubt. I would rid the world of Aro - I had no need to waste my time on Marcus, as he was practically dead already - and install myself as emperor of the vampire world, much like Julius Caesar had done before me with the humans in Rome. And like Caesar, I would not stop with Rome. I would then take my army to the doorstep of the Cullen coven and squash them like bugs. Whatever humans happened to be with them would make for a nice celebratory drink after our victory. I couldn't wait.

Afton POV

Finding the golden-eyed vampire as my master had commanded was not difficult. Following him was not as easy. Not because he was difficult to track - he wasn't. No, it was because his behavior made me wish to be physically ill, if such a thing were possible for my kind.

While I followed him, I wondered why I had been sent on this mission. Perhaps the brothers knew of his association with the human. I saw that they both wore rings - were they married? To each other? How disgusting! How abnormal this vampire was - his mating with a human combined with his oddly colored eyes made him the strangest vampire I had ever seen.

His wife, however - the human - she smelled delicious. Perhaps the best I'd ever encountered. It was a floral scent, somehow, combined with a fruity essence - strawberries and apples, I believe. Perhaps something else as well - cinnamon? I wasn't sure. I hoped that Caius would reward my service by letting me drink from her when we captured and killed the vampire for breaking the law.

I followed them for days, watching them visit the many tourist destinations of Rome and Venice. I was tempted many times to drink while I traveled, but abstained, knowing that the masters would not approve of such behavior outside of the castle walls, whether I was in Volterra or not. And I still had a job to do.

I watched as the vampire kissed all over her, as he touched her gently and reverently. It reminded me of the way I touched my own mate. The difference being that my mate was another vampire - meant to be a mate, not a snack. A small part of me almost admired his restraint, knowing it must be difficult to have his mouth on her neck like that without biting. But mostly I was disgusted. Surely there was something seriously wrong with him.

I was careful to keep myself off of his radar, never leaving a trace by smell, and carefully avoiding leaving footprints or letting him catch sight of me. I could tell that he had suspicion of being followed, because he was constantly watching over his shoulder. _Ah, if only he knew. If only he was not so oblivious to the world around him._

The worst times on my mission were in Venice, when he had relations with the human. I could smell her, and it caused venom to leak copiously from my mouth. I wanted so badly to drink from her, to let that sweet-smelling nectar to flow down and coat my throat, putting out the fire that burned within me. The golden-eyed vampire may be too stupid to enjoy it, but I was not. However, it was not my right to drink from her. Yet. I would wait for Caius to allow it. I was sure that, in showing my ability and willingness to follow his instructions, my loyalty would be rewarded.

When I finally saw the vampire and his human board a plane out of the country, I was pleased to have finished my mission, and turned on my heal to run back to Volterra with my report.

Caius POV

Four days after our conversation, Chelsea and Afton returned to my chambers. Afton had been able to locate Carlisle, and had come to me to report on what he had seen.

"I found the golden-eyed vampire as you asked, Master. He traveled with a woman - a human," he said, making a disgusted face as he vocalized the word "human". "They seemed to be on some sort of vacation, doing much sight-seeing. It seemed that they were _together_. It was horrifying to watch, master, as this vampire pressed his lips against the human, over and over, with tenderness, and even worse when he was intimate with her at night. He left with her on an airplane - she is still alive! What does he mean by this?"

"You see, Afton," I began, "this vampire is Carlisle Cullen. He is mentally ill. You saw how he acts amongst the humans, how he has gone so far as to _mate_ with one!" The word came out of my mouth as if it tasted badly. Really, it did. It made me recall the human feeling of nausea to simply think about mating with a human. "Any other vampire would understand that this is reprehensible behavior. Do you agree, Afton?"

"Of course, Master. I would never wish to do anything but feed from a human. The behavior of this Cullen is reprehensible!"

"It is worse than that, Afton. Carlisle Cullen is extremely unbalanced. Your own testimony has further proved this, do you agree?"

"I do, Master."

"As do I," agreed Chelsea.

"Then we have but one choice. A vampire who is so obviously deranged cannot be allowed to exist. He is a danger to us all in this state! He must be destroyed." _And Aro, who so foolishly protects him, must be taken down in the process_, I added mentally.

"Tell us what to do, Master Caius. We are your loyal servants," replied Afton and Chelsea together.

I was one step closer to my goal.

**A/N: Well, what did you think? Devious Caius, still at it. You can see how highly he thinks of himself when he compares himself to such leaders as Caesar. There is much irony in this comparison, however, when you consider what caused Caesar's downfall...**

**The next chapter will get us a little insight from Hanover as well as a bit more travel. We are two chapters away from the truth about Bella. Are you ready??? Send me a review, and Alice will give you a vision of the next chapter!**

**Thanks for reading! **


	19. 18 I See France

**A/N: Thanks so much for reading and responding to the last chapter. I could not be more thrilled to see the reviews adding up so quickly - we're already over 600! It's definitely encouraging, and makes me want to get chapters out to you even faster. For all who did not review and therefore get a preview of the last chapter, let me just clarify one thing. Alice doesn't get random visions for everyone on earth. She gets them for the people she cares about and is watching out for. Right now, she is not watching the Volturi, since Aro promised a free year. Also, Caius may want to kill Carlisle (and everyone else, for that matter), but he hasn't decided exactly how to go about it yet. Once he does, she'll see it, because it will directly affect Carlisle. There are other reasons that she's not seeing things, and you'll just have to keep reading to find those out. ;)**

**Now, on with the show. There is a lemon at the end of this chapter when you come to the *** - just a warning for those of you who aren't into that, it doesn't affect the story if you want to skip it.**

**I don't own Twilight, but I am sure having fun twisting it around with my imagination.**

Chapter 18: I See France

APOV

I was lying on the bed in my room, waiting for Jasper to return from his hunt. The house was quiet - Rosalie and Emmett had gone to Canada for the weekend to try to catch some bears before they went into hibernation for the winter, leaving my husband and I home alone. I planned to take full advantage of the privacy - it wasn't often that we had any!

I closed my eyes and lost myself in a vision of how we would be passing the night. I nearly screamed aloud when they honeyed voice of my Jasper came in a whisper next to my ear.

"You're thinkin' of naughty things, Mrs. Whitlock... Very naughty things indeed."

I grinned at him - I loved when he called me Mrs. Whitlock. It was my real name, it had been since the nineteen fifties when we found each other, but we so rarely got to use it publicly.

"Why don't you come over here and I'll show you?"

He crouched down low and then, with one pounce, was hovering over me in our bed.

An hour later, I lay in my husband's arms, just enjoying the feel of his body next to mine.

"Ali, baby, I've been meanin' to ask you something. I've been feeling worry from you for nearly a week. Can you tell me why that is, darlin'?"

"Oh Jazzy, everything is okay now. I was worried because I was getting visions of Carlisle and Bella in Italy, and there was always another vampire near them. He wasn't anyone I recognized, and he never got close enough to them for me to think that he was a threat. I kept a close watch, though, so that I could call and warn Carlisle if I saw any danger. But then I saw Carlisle go looking for him, so I assumed he was well aware of the situation and didn't bother calling."

"Do you still see the other vampire?" Jasper asked, his voice tense. I could tell that Major Whitlock was coming out to play.

"No, he left them alone once they left Venice. I suspect he was probably just curious as to why Carlisle was with Bella. I even did a quick search for Aro's future, and I didn't see any connection between the vampire from the vision, so I guess there's no cause to worry after all."

Jasper leaned down and planted a soft kiss on my cheek. "You're probably right about that, darlin'. But even when you were worried, I noticed that you were confused too. Was that just because you didn't know that vampire?"

"No, Jazzy. It was more than that. My visions, whenever Bella is involved, have gotten blurry. It's strange, and I don't understand it. I still get the same vision of her waking up as a vampire, and it's crystal clear. But everything with her human has become blurry. It doesn't make any sense to me. I've never had anything like this happen before!"

Jasper rubbed one hand in soothing circles on my back and used the other to hold my head against his chest. The skin to skin contact intensified the strength of his gift, and I could feel him passing calming waves into me.

"Ali, baby, you can't worry so much. Carlisle and I talked before he left, after I noticed the change in Bella's scent. It's something very unusual, that's for sure. But what about our sister isn't unusual?"

His bass toned laugh sang brilliantly in my ears. I loved it when Jasper laughed - it didn't happen often enough. My poor husband had seen so much horror in his existence, and I knew that each time he laughed was like a healing balm rubbed on his wounds. Though his scars would never heal, I could see the changes in him over the years that were the result of his soul healing. Bella had been nearly as big a part of that healing as I had myself, and for that, I would always be grateful to my sister. And I would protect her, somehow, no matter what it took.

"Anyways, darlin'," Jazz continued, "Carlisle thought that maybe his venom was changin' her a little at a time. That's possible, I reckon, though I've never heard it done before. But then again, I never heard of a vampire and a human having sex without the human ending up the meal in the end either. At any rate, I was thinkin' that maybe your visions are blurry because Bella's not quite human anymore, nor is she a vampire. Being stuck somewhere in the middle might mess with you visions, kind of like how you can't see the wolves."

I thought about that for several minutes. He made a good point. I wondered if I should warn Carlisle. Probably not, as I could see that it would only cause him more worry, and then they wouldn't enjoy their trip. I didn't want to ruin it for them. As long as I Saw her waking up as a vampire still, I could assume that everything was alright. I wouldn't stop looking, though. Some part of me couldn't get over the nagging fear that I was missing something. I could only hope that it wasn't something huge.

"Thanks Jazzy," I said, nuzzling my face into the crook of his shoulder. "You always know just what to say to make me feel better."

"You know I'm always here for you darlin'," he said, using his power to wrap me in a cocoon of his love. "Now why don't you close those pretty golden eyes of yours and look for a vision of Carlisle and Bella's future - somethin' to reassure you that everything is alright."

As usual, the combination of his power, his strong arms holding me, and that honeyed southern drawl was enough to lull me into a relaxed state. Doing as he asked, I closed my eyes and searched the future. Several visions came to me.

Carlisle and Bella walking down the Champs-Elysées window shopping. _Oooooohhh! I've got to call Bella and ask her to pick that dress up for me.... Those shoes too!_ I heard a chuckle coming from above me as Jasper picked up the spike of excitement I must have emitted.

Carlisle and Bella walking around the Louvre museum, looking at all the artwork. Carlisle and Bella standing in front of Monet's _Water Lillies_... _Oh, they are going to Musée d'Orsay as well. Those two and their museums. Really, all those things to shop for in Paris, and they are going to spend all their time looking at art that they can't bring home!_ I shook my head and looked for a more interesting vision.

Next came Carlisle and Bella at the Eiffel Tower. _Oh God! _I pulled out of the vision quickly and sat up, suddenly wishing that vampires could vomit. Jasper looked at me with his eyebrows raised.

"Darlin', lust and disgust aren't emotions that I usually find coming from the same person at the same time."

"Jazzy, I have to call Bella really quick and prescribe a wardrobe alteration, and then I am going to need you to distract me from the vision I just had to live through....Think you can do that?"

"Oh Ali, baby, I think I can..."

BPOV

I woke up in a room, lit only by sunlight, slightly confused by my surroundings. I was lying in Carlisle's arms in a large comfortable bed, in what appeared to be a home of some sort. I turned my head toward my husband, who most certainly saw the confusion in my face.

"Good morning, my love. You were sound asleep when the plane landed last night, and I was unable to wake you. So I carried you off the plane and settled you into the rental car, and then brought you here."

"Where is _here_, Carlisle?" I asked.

"This is Alice and Jasper's cottage. We're just outside the limits of Paris, nestled into a small forested area. I came here rather than a hotel so that I could hunt last night without being far from you if you woke, but we can move into the city today if you prefer."

"No, no, Carlisle. We can stay here. This is perfect."

Giving him a quick kiss, I hopped down from the bed and went to have my human moments before exploring the cottage. It was quite a cute little place, actually. There was one other bedroom besides ours, in addition to a small living room and a kitchen. There was a patio along the back of the house, and beyond that the forest began. It was decorated, mostly with pieces that appeared to be antiques - certainly not the usual Cullen style, but it fit the character of the house quite well.

When I finished my tour, I went into the kitchen and found that the cupboards were bare. Obviously we were going to have to eat in the city. I informed Carlisle, and the two of us quickly (he much more so than I) dressed and readied ourselves to leave for the day.

We drove into Paris in the rented Renault Mégane Coupe and parked near to the Champs-Élysées. We walked hand in hand down the avenue, and entered the first cafe that we found, since I was already starving. When our waitress came, I ordered blueberry crepes and fresh orange juice, and then the two of us sat discussing our plans for the day while we waited for my breakfast to arrive.

Suddenly, Carlisle's phone rang, and he reached into his pocket to answer it. A moment later, he handed it to me. I laughed as I heard Alice's excited voice on the other end of the line, informing me that she had Seen us passing by a few of her favorite stores this afternoon and giving me a list of everything she wanted me to pick up for her. That was my sister - such a shopaholic that she could even shop across an ocean through visions. Carlisle, who, thanks to vampire hearing, could hear every word of our conversation, shook his head and smiled. I didn't doubt for a moment that he was used to this sort of thing where Alice was concerned.

Once she had completed giving me my shopping instructions, she told me that she had one more piece of information to share with me.

"Is everything ok, Alice?"

"Yes, it's just about your day of sightseeing four days from now. I need you to adjust your wardrobe..."

She finished her instructions, which were annoyingly vague, and then we said our good-byes.

"Everything alright?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes, just some apparent wardrobe emergency that needed to be corrected," I said with a grin. "Nothing to worry about."

The waitress came then, bringing my breakfast, which was amazingly delicious. I was so glad that Carlisle had secured us this free year, if for nothing else than all the new food I was having a chance to try.

Once I had finished, Carlisle and I set out hand in hand down the Champs-Élysées. The avenue was lined with perfectly pruned trees and French flags. Behind the trees stood the buildings which housed cinemas, cafes, and luxury specialty shops, many of which we stopped in, either for our own desire or Alice's. We spent several hours walking down the avenue, always holding hands, feeling just like a regular couple. So many times I found myself looking away from the scenery to take in a glimpse of Carlisle's beautiful face, several times reaching up to brush away the one rebel strand of his golden hair that kept falling forward into his eyes as he gazed down at me. My breath caught in my throat each time I saw him look at me - it was incredible to me that this glorious man could look at me that way. It was obvious that he adored me as much as I did him.

Finally, we reached the end of the avenue, where stood the Arc de Triomphe. As we stood in front of it, I was astonished at how large it was - Carlisle told me that it was 162 ft tall and 150 ft wide, and that once, after World War I ended, a French pilot flew his fighter plan right through it! We walked around it, admiring the carvings in the marble. The artistry was simple amazing, all of it intended to celebrate French military victories, with the names of the generals who had served France carved into it as well.

After we had looked it over, Carlisle took me inside, carrying me on his back up the nearly three hundred steps to the observation level, where we looked out on a panoramic view of Paris. It was breathtaking - the city was at our feet. Carlisle obviously noticed my reaction, and leaned his head down to bring his mouth closer to my ear.

"It's incredible, isn't it, my love? Just imagine, when we go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, it will be even better!"

I sighed, partly in anticipation of what was to come, partly in appreciation of the beauty before me, and even a little bit in sheer adoration of my husband, whose soft words had sent chills up my spine.

We walked back down to the street level a few minutes later, and Carlisle led us into a nearby restaurant so that I could have dinner. Afterwards we walked hand in hand back down the Champs-Élysées under the stars, the atmosphere so romantic that I could barely stop myself from pressing my lips against his. But I waited... Thirty minutes later, we were back in Alice's cottage, making sweet, tender love.

The next morning I was surprised to find myself in bed alone. Mornings like these had been few and far between since Carlisle and I admitted our love to each other. I assumed that he had gone out for a hunt, and took advantage of the extra time to run myself a hot bath. I found plenty of bath oils and salts under the sink, as well as a bottle of rose-scented bubble bath. Choosing the last, I filled the tub and then sank into the warm bubbles.

I soaked until all of my muscles were completely relaxed, and then got my razor out to shave my legs. When I had finished, I pulled the plug from the tub, and stepped out, wrapping my towel around myself and returning to the bedroom.

When I entered, I found Carlisle sitting on the bed, a tray next to him set with my breakfast, and a sexy smirk on his face. But as I took another step closer to him, I saw his nostrils flare and a worried look cross his face.

"Bella, sweetheart, are you hurt?" He asked, his voice betraying his worry.

"No, honey, I'm fine."

He sniffed the air.

"No, Bella, you are bleeding. You're hurt. Let me take care of you."

I didn't understand what he was talking about, since I didn't feel any pain. Then I remembered that I had just been shaving, so I looked down to my legs. Sure enough, there was a thick trail of blood flowing down the side of my leg from just below my knee to my ankle. I hadn't even realized that I had cut myself.

Looking at the blood, that not so long ago would have, at best, made me extremely nauseous, or at worst, caused me to pass out, I realized that it was doing neither. Instead, it was causing a completely different feeling within me. One of desire. I wanted it...wanted to taste it. I reached my right index and middle finger downs, catching the flow of the crimson liquid and filling the little cup I had created with it before bringing them to my mouth. I opened my lips and wrapped them around the two fingers, bringing them into my mouth where my tongue was waiting to lick them clean. I savored the flavor - sweet and heady and oh so warm, my eyes rolling back in my head with pleasure.

Suddenly, a cough and the sound of a deep inhalation reminded me that I was not alone. Opening my eyes, I looked directly into the pitch black eyes of my husband.

"Bella," he asked, obviously concerned, and most likely a bit shocked. "What are you doing?"

"Practicing?" I said with a grin, not having any better answer. Really, my mind was caught up with thoughts of reaching back down my leg for more. I really wanted more.

Carlisle must have seen my eyes darting back and forth between him and my leg, because after a moment he reached down himself and drew up the remaining blood on his fingers, bringing it up to my lips.

"Do you want this, Isabella?" He asked huskily.

"Yes," I moaned. "But I can share..."

"No, no baby. I can't. But you can," he whispered, bringing the opposite thumb up to my bottom lip and pulling it down, opening my mouth and sliding his bloody fingers into it. I circled his fingers with my tongue, savoring every bit of the sweet nectar. Without consciously making the decision to do so, I head myself moaning with pleasure.

"Oh god, Bella, I have to have you. Right now," Carlisle said, lust dripping in his voice, sounding more wanton than I've ever heard him before. The sound was such a turn on, there was no way to deny him.

Two hours later, after finally getting around to my breakfast and another shower, we made our way out to the car to drive back into Paris. We sat quietly during the drive, and I couldn't stop myself from wondering what had happened in our bedroom a few hours before. _What on earth had possessed me to drink my own blood?_ I most certainly did not understand it, and I doubted that Carlisle did either. And despite his insane lust, I had seen the concern in his eyes in the beginning. If he was worried, then I most certainly was as well. _What was happening to me? _

We spent the vast majority of our day in the Musée d'Orsay, viewing paintings by many of the world's greatest artists, including Monet, Cèzanne, and Degas. Carlisle told me that the museum had been a train station for many years before it had been converted into it's current occupation, and he had himself used it in it's former capacity much more frequently that it's current. He smiled shyly as he admitted this, almost as if he was embarrassed. It was endearing, really, and I couldn't fight the urge to reach up on my tip toes and place a soft kiss on his cheek.

In our many hours at the museum, we debated over the merits of so many pieces. One example came in the works of Degas - I preferred his ballet-themed pieces, specifically _Ballet Rehearsal on Stage_, which to me were amazing in the way they portrayed movement even in still form, while Carlisle preferred his more mundane works. Neither of us, however, could deny the incredible talent of van Gogh, who, in pieces like _The Siesta_ and _The Starry Night_, could make the evidence of brush strokes something magnificent. Carlisle vowed to bring me back to the museum to see these pieces again after I was changed, swearing that vampire vision made it even more incredible than I could ever imagine. We also agreed on the piece entitled _Evening_ by Charles Guilloux, which contained such odd shapes and soft colors that it completely captivated us both.

Overall, it was a fabulous day that we spent together, in one of our favorite activities, and I was once again grateful for the extra time that we had to devote to this adventure. I never thought the day would come when I'd be sending a thank you note to the Volturi, but I was seriously considering it that night as I lay in my husband's strong marble arms.

We spent the entire next day at the Louvre, leaving only for a brief hour at noon in order to grab a quick bite to eat. The museum was so enormous, it was impossible for us to see every piece in one day, so we decided to once again focus on paintings. While every piece in the museum was amazing, I had to admit that my favorite moment of the day came when we reached the _Mona Lisa_.

"Oh, Carlisle! Look!" I exclaimed, overcome by my excitement.

"Yes, sweetheart - it's here."

"All these years, I've only ever seen it in books - it's so amazing to be standing in front of it! But it's so small!"

I smiled as I heard his beautiful deep laugh resonate and echo against the walls of the museum. I suppose it wasn't the comment that he expected, but it was the only one I could think of. I don't know why I had always imagined that the painting would be very large, but it was actually less than three feet tall by less than two feet wide. Of course, that didn't make it any less beautiful, nor did it make finally seeing it in person any less incredible to me. I squeezed Carlisle's hand tightly in my own and leaned into his cold, hard chest.

"I love you," I whispered.

"As I love you," he replied.

On our last day in France, Carlisle and I went back to sight-seeing, visiting both the Palace of Versailles and the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Both were incredibly exquisite, so lavish in their design.

While walking through Versailles, I couldn't help but wonder at the character of King Louis XIV, whose grandiose decorating and design made me quite certain that he must have been extremely full of himself. Most of the palace was decorated in gold and silk. Surely it was impressive and full of splendor, but, at least in my opinion, it was so far past overdone that I couldn't imagine it being a comfortable place to live.

At Notre Dame, Carlisle used his vast knowledge of history to explain to me how the building represented so many things. Even something as simple as the horizontal and vertical lines on the façade were meant to remind mankind that the cathedral was built for both God and man. It was fascinating to absorb everything that he taught me while I stared at the architectural wonder before us. I found it incredible to think about how much thought had gone into the design of the building, not to mention how much work.

Once we finished at the cathedral, Carlisle and I went to a nearby gourmet restaurant to sample the cousine (well, for me to do so, at any rate). Dinner was absolutely delicious, like nothing I had ever tasted before. When he sent his credit card away with our server, I asked him what else he still had planned for us.

"Why, Bella, have you forgotten the most important site in Paris? We're going to the Eiffel Tower tonight!"

"Now?!" I cried, barely containing my enthusiasm.

"No, sweetheart. We're going to head back to the house for a bit - I want you rest for a bit first," he replied with a warm smile.

True to his word, we returned to the cottage and I took a nap for a few hours while Carlisle went out for a quick hunt in the woods. When I woke, I went back to my suitcase to make the wardrobe adjustment that Alice had requested of me over the phone on our first morning in Paris. I had to admit, the change she asked me to make definitely caused me to raise my eyebrows, but I did it none the less.

As we approached it in the car, I marveled at the glorious beauty of the structure, all lit up in the dark French night, one building lighting the whole city. We reached the Eiffel Tower at twelve thirty in the morning. Although it was lit up, it had been closed to visitors since eleven. I looked to Carlisle with curiosity as to why we had arrived too late.

"I'm a vampire, my love - the rules don't always apply to me," he said with a wink. "I wanted us to have a chance to see it together, without the crowds."

Taking me by the hand, we walked up the first two flights of stairs, then found that they ended.

"Honey? How are we going to get to the top?" I asked, sure that the elevator was not working while the tower was closed to the public.

"Like I said, sweetheart, the rules don't always apply. Now I know you don't necessarily enjoy things like this, but I want you to climb onto my back and keep your eyes closed."

I did as he asked, though reluctantly. He was right - this wasn't something I particularly enjoyed, but I kept my mouth, and my eyes, securely closed, preferring not to know what was happening to me. I didn't open my eyes again until he set me down and told me to do so. When I did, I gasped in surprise - we were standing on the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower!

I wrapped my arms around his waist, unable to speak as I took in all of Paris before me. The view was nothing less than incredible. We walked slowly around all sides of the deck, taking in every view of the city below us. It was so beautiful, so unreal.

Once we had seen it all, we returned to the north-facing side, and Carlisle led me to the railing. He pressed me up against it, leaning his body up against mine so that his chest was against my back and his arms were wrapped around my waist.

"It's so beautiful, Carlisle. It's breathtaking!"

"No, my love, _you_ are breathtaking. Everything else pales in comparison."

I sighed as I leaned against him, allowing him to envelop me in his arms and in his love. I tilted my head back just enough to allow my lips to meet his for a tender kiss.

*******************

However, that tender kiss was not enough for either of us. He spun me around in his arms, bringing us face to face, and attacked my mouth with his, plunging his tongue into my open mouth with a passion that wouldn't be denied. I matched his enthusiasm equally, though, my need for him strong. Suddenly, Alice's instructions to replace my lace boy shorts with a pair of the crotchless panties that Kate gave me at my bridal shower made complete sense, and I nearly laughed at the realization - poor Alice with her visions!

"God, how I want you Bella," Carlisle said, his voice barely more than a whisper.

"Take me, Carlisle. I want you to."

He growled in appreciation of my words, and brought his lips to my neck, pressing open mouthed kisses all the way up and down my throat, drawing low moans from deep within me as I responded to his ministrations. His arousal was pressing hard into my hip, and it made me want him that much more.

His fingers made his way down from my chin, slowly tracing over my skin, his touch so light that I could barely feel it, but not failing to fan the flame that was burning within me. He continued on his path until he reached the hem of my silk skirt, then changed direction and started back on an upward journey, this time beneath the fabric. I hissed as he reached the top of my inner thigh, only millimeters away from where I wanted him so badly.

With my own hands, I reached up and caught a two fistfuls of his golden waves, tugging his face to mine so that I could kiss him hard. In the same moment, his fingers found the opening in my panties, brushing up against my already wet folds. He groaned at the discovery as I gasped in pleasure.

"Bella, Bella, you naughty girl," he teased, pulling his lips back from mine to speak.

"Speak for yourself, husband.... Alice saw this happening days ago - you obviously planned on it happening," I teased.

"Hoped is perhaps a better word, sweetheart. I certainly hoped..."

I interrupted him by tugging his face back to mine, desperately needing to kiss him again. He kissed me passionately for a moment, before pulling back once again.

"Baby, I need you... I can't wait. Please, Bella."

I moaned in response, and allowed him to turn my body back toward the railing. He pushed the fabric of my skirt up and I heard his zipper slide down. A moment later, I felt the cold hard flesh of his arousal rubbing against my overheated sex.

"Please, Carlisle... Please don't tease... I need you inside me - make me whole."

As always, he complied. With one swift thrust, we were joined together in the way that always felt so right. We both let out low cries of pleasure as we he entered me, the feeling just as good as the first time he ever did it. His hands slipped underneath my blouse and began teasing my nipples. I raised myself into a standing position, reaching back over my shoulders to wrap my arms around his neck. I tilted my head and opened my mouth to him, letting our tongues tangle together in a passionate dance as he continued to thrust into me.

Both of us were moaning in unison as the pleasure coursed through us.

"Oh god honey, I'm so close..." I whispered against his lips.

"Me too baby... Ugh... Cum with me, Bella..."

A few thrusts later, we came together, crying out each other's names into the Parisian night. Once we had ridden out our orgasms, Carlisle held me against him, pressing soft kisses all over my neck and shoulders.

**********

"Look out at Paris, my love. This is only one city, Isabella, but know that the whole world is at your feet. I would give you anything in the world, my love. I love you more than anything."

I turned myself so that I was looking at him, and brought my hands up to cup his cheeks. "Carlisle, don't you know that I already have everything I could ever want? I have you."

We kissed again, this time soft and loving, sharing our love for each other. A moment later, he pulled away.

"Come, my love, let's go back to the cottage. We have a flight to catch in the morning."

And with that, I climbed back onto my husband's back and held on tight as he scaled back down the Eiffel Tower and then placed me gently into the car. We drove back to the cottage in near silence, simply holding each other's hands as we watched the scenery pass for the last time before our flight the next morning.

**A/N: Hope that was enjoyable for you. I know that this chapter is going to make you say "What the hell is up with Bella?!" Well, the answer is coming in the next chapter! Send me a review, and I'll send you a preview. It's a good trade, I promise!**


	20. 19 Spanish Surprises

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter - we've officially collected more reviews on this story so far than on the prequel, and I'm thrilled at the response. Last chapter has 62 reviews now, and I am amazed. I really do read and enjoy and respond to every one, and I can't tell you the excitement I'm filled with to open my email and see an inbox full of reviews! So thank you to everyone who always reviews, and for those of you who did for the first time. You make me want to write more!**

**I would like to apologize for the awful editing job on the last chapter. Quite honestly, I edited while half asleep and watching the Jackson 5 movie... It's all my own fault (I just hope the two girls I beta for didn't notice, lol). I promise to do better from now on!**

**This chapter brings us to the next major development in the story. You've all been so patient (yeah, right) in waiting for it, and I hope that you'll enjoy it!**

**Oh, and I do not own Twilight, as you are well aware.**

Chapter 19: Spanish Surprises

CPOV

I sat in my first class seat on the flight between Paris and Madrid, with Bella's head resting on my thigh as she slept, thinking about our time in France. I could not stop the smile from forming (or for that matter the erection) as I thought about our visit to the Eiffel Tower - I was barely able to fathom the fact that it had actually happened! But my god, it had been better than any fantasy I could have imagined. My Bella was truly one surprise after another.

Speaking of surprises, the incident with the cut on her leg continued to take up a large portion of my thoughts as well. It was so odd, her reaction. I had never seen Bella handle blood in any way that did not involve her becoming even more pale than usual and nearly (if not completely) losing consciousness. She had always said that she could smell the blood, and that the smell was what bothered her so much. But this time, she had not only smelled it, but tasted it! More than that, she intentionally ingested it...twice!

While my initial reaction had obviously been concern, I couldn't help but be aroused at watching my mate having such a feral reaction. While the man in me doesn't want to be aroused by such things, the vampire in me takes control sometimes, and it cannot be helped.

I suppose, now that I've had a chance to really consider it, that what happened further convinced me that my venom has in fact begun to change her. I will have to discuss it with Eleazar once we are back at the hacienda. It will be helpful to talk it out, I think, to decide where to go from here.

Despite my worry, I had to admit that I was still feeling extremely happy. Our trip had been wonderful so far, and I had honestly enjoyed every moment that Bella and I had shared. I would always remain grateful to Aro for allowing us this time, for it truly was better than I ever could have hoped for. Bella was a dream come true - she made me so happy, so alive. I was so amazed at the course my existence had taken. It seemed that everything I had once believed was being proven false. What would be next?

An hour later, I was still lost in my thoughts as the plane touched down on the runway at Madrid Barajas Airport. Bringing myself back to reality, I pressed a soft kiss onto Bella's temple and whispered to her that it was time to wake up. I picked up our carry-on bag and took Bella's hand, leading her off the plane as soon as we were given permission to do so. We walked down to the baggage claim area, and, smelling him before I even saw him, I immediately recognized Eleazar's presence.

"Bella, sweetheart, there is a surprise waiting for you," I said softly, pointing toward the direction of his scent.

A moment later, the people between us all seemed to step aside at once, clearing the way for us to see Carmen and Eleazar standing not fifteen meters away.

"¡Hermanita!" Exclaimed Carmen, running at a brisk human pace towards us, with Eleazar following in a more distinguished pace.

Bella's face lit up with a wide grin as she looked up at me, then back to Carmen. She had known that we would be staying at the house that they gifted us on their land, but not that they would be joining us here. I was so happy that she found the surprise pleasing.

Carmen and Bella reached each other quickly, meeting in a tight hug. It delighted me to no end to see how close these two had become already. It had been a worry of mine, early on, that Carmen would resent my feelings for Bella since she had been so close to Esme. Luckily, though, things went much better than I had expected, once again. Maybe someday I would just stop listening to my own pessimism...

Carmen and Bella chatted nonstop all the way from the baggage claim to the check-in desk at the Gran Melia Fenix Hotel in Madrid. Eleazar and I, when planning this trip, had decided to spend our first two days and nights in Madrid before traveling south to the hacienda in Malaga. This way we'd have a chance to see some of the sights that we most wanted to see before taking a vacation from our vacation, so to speak. We had reserved rooms next door to each other, and, for a moment, Elly and I both wondered whether we would rooming together and leaving the other room for our wives, but luckily we were granted reprieve when we reached the fifth floor and they separated.

Once we had a chance to freshen up from our travels, Bella and I walked to the room next to ours to let our friends know that we were ready to leave. My wife was already hungry, so we decided to have lunch before beginning our exploration of El Paseo de la Castellana, the main road of Madrid and the street on which our hotel was located. We found a nearby restaurant, and Bella ordered paella for lunch, with a glass of sangria to drink - very typical Spanish fair, according to our friends. She found the meal quite delicious, and thanked them for their suggestion when she was finished.

Once Bella was sated, the four of us left the restaurant and began walking down the tree-lined street. It amazed me that the street, which was well suited for pedestrian traffic, was also the main thoroughfare, resulting in cars driving by us at such high speeds that I was quite concerned for Bella's safety.

We walked a ways down the street, taking notice of all of the monuments and sculptures along our way, and finally stopped when we reached el Museo Reina Sofia, the contemporary art museum here in Madrid. The four of us walked through the museum together, and I must admit it was interesting to have two new perspectives on the pieces, as Bella and I tend to have the same taste most of the time.

When we reached the room that held some works by Salvador Dali, our conversation became much more animated and enjoyable. We stood in front of a piece called El Gran Masturbador, staring at it intensely. My head tilted to the side as I tried to understand exactly what it was that I was looking at. A slight glance to my side told me that Bella was having a difficult time as well.

"This is extremely odd," she said, finally breaking our silence.

"How can you say that?!" Eleazar exclaimed. "It is brillant!"

"Elly, we cannot even understand what we are looking at," I said, agreeing with my wife.

"You don't have to! That is the beauty of art, old friend - you don't have to understand it to appreciate it!"

"I never said I didn't appreciate it," Bella interrupted. "Just that it's odd. I'd never have it hanging in my house."

"You know, Dali had major sexual issues well into adulthood. They say it stemmed from his father showing him explicit photos of men with advanced cases of venereal disease when he was a child " Carmen said, obviously trying to change the subject before her husband and my wife began a full-out argument. It was common knowledge that, despite his many years living in Alaska, Eleazar remained fiercely loyal to his Spanish roots, and would therefore defend Dali to the ends of the earth, whether is was necessary or not.

Taking my cue from Carmen, I placed my hand on the small of Bella's back and led her from the room. The next room we entered held the most famous piece in the museum: Pablo Picaso's Guernica. The piece, meant to represent the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts on individuals, depicted the bombing of the city of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. The piece has come to be a well-known anti-war symbol, and is, in fact, quite disturbing to look at. I could tell that Bella agreed when I heard her gasp next to me. I squeezed her hand to reassure her of my presence, and she leaned into me.

"It's terrifying," she whispered.

"War is," I said, not denying the truth of her statement. The painting truly was rather frightening to look at, but after all of my years on this earth, I had seen many instances of war. No matter how it is fought, or for what reason, this painting, to me, can never even come close to to making anyone understand how horrific it really can be. Nevertheless, I don't deny it came close.

When we finished viewing Picaso's work, we made our way to the last few rooms of the museum before walking out into the Spanish evening. Since Bella still needed to eat, we arranged to meet each other the next morning before Carmen and Eleazar began walking back to the hotel and Bella and I to the restaurant next door, where Bella ate gazpacho, a type of tomato soup, and bread, as well as buñuelos for desert. When she finished, the two of us returned to the hotel, where my tired wife fell asleep only seconds after her head touched the pillow. I laid down next to her and spent the night breathing in her heavenly scent and combing through her gorgeous mahogany locks with my fingertips.

The next morning we woke early and I ordered room service for Bella's breakfast while she showered. Today was going to be our last day in Madrid before we drove down to Malaga, and we had big plans for the day, so there was not time to waste. Once we were both ready to go, I knocked on the wall between our room and Eleazar's, signaling to them that it was time to leave.

The four of us walked out of the hotel and onto the Paseo de la Castellana once again. On this day, we walked in the opposite direction as the day before, since we were going to see the Museo del Prado, one of the best fine arts museums in all of Europe. It began as the royal collection, and now houses an even more impressive collection, including over thirteen hundred paintings. I had visited this museum many times over the last century with Eleazar, each time we visited Spain together, in fact, and I had always been impressed with it.

As we walked through the Prado, which took us the entire morning and even a bit of the afternoon, all four of us kept up a pleasant conversation, and sometimes debate, about the pieces that we viewed. The museum housed the works of many very important Spanish artists, which of course was our main focus for the day. We were all in agreement regarding our favorite artists at the Prado, unlike the day before, and they included Goya, Velazquez, and El Greco. Carmen preferred Las Meninas by Velazquez, a piece that was painted around the time of my human birth. It depicts members of the Spanish royal family and court, as well as Velazquez himself, who is painting in the painting. One of the most interesting things about the painting is that it seems that some of the characters in it are directly relating to the viewers of the painting, rather than each other. Bella said that her favorite was the combination of The Naked Maja and The Clothed Maja, two pieces by Goya which are identical in every way except for the woman's state of dress. Bella was extremely impressed with Goya's ability to make such copies while painting. Eleazar and I both preferred the work of El Greco, The Holy Trinity being my favorite and The Burial of the Count of Orgaz being Elly's.

Once we had finished our tour of the museum, we walked back out onto the street in search of a restaurant for Bella. Lunch was not completely without incident. About halfway through her meal, Bella suddenly got a faraway look in her eyes and then looked down at the steak knife next to her plate, her countenance reflecting the fact that she was deep in thought. Carmen and Eleazar, who had been quite involved in a conversation, took notice of Bella's odd behavior as well.

"Bella?" Carmen called softly.

Bella did not respond to her, but instead lifted her knife and pressed it against her palm, though not hard enough to cut herself. I immediately reached out and covered her hand with my own, preventing her from causing any damage to herself. While all three of us were practiced enough to easily resist if she did begin to bleed, I did not know that I could contain my lust if she were to have a reaction like the one in the cottage last week once.

"Sweetheart," I called, my voice firm and louder than Carmen's had been, trying to break through her distraction. She looked up at me. "Bella, sweetheart, you can't do this here."

She seemed to return to reality then, her eyes focusing more on my face, and nodded her acceptance to me, setting her knife back onto the table. We both turned back toward the table, then, and I saw the concern in Carmen's eyes, as well as the apprehension and confusion that was written all over Eleazar's face. I promised him, speaking at vampire speed so that no one else could hear, that I would explain later.

Bella finished her meal a few moments later, and we quickly made our way out of the restaurant. We returned to the hotel to change into our jeans and the jerseys that Eleazar had bought for us, and then took a taxi to Bernabeu Stadium, the home of Real Madrid. We would be attending a soccer match, Real Madrid versus Barcelona. Neither Bella nor I typically watched soccer, both of us preferring baseball and basketball, we had decided that we should indulge in such a favorite European past time while we were here.

The game itself was very intense. At the end of ninety minutes, the score was 2-1 in favor of Real Madrid, with Ronaldo and Raul scoring Madrid's two goals. Casillas, the goalkeeper, had performed spectacularly throughout the game, blocking shot after shot on his goal by Barcelona. As the four of us sat in the taxi on the ride back to the hotel, Bella commented on the atmosphere of the game.

"You know, the thing that I don't get about soccer is that the people watching the game constantly get excited over nothing!" she said, laughing. "I mean, every time the ball crosses the middle line of the pitch, they start screaming. Haven't they figured out by now that there's nothing to be excited about until the ball is about ten meters or less from the goal?"

I laughed as I caught the look of indignation from Eleazar.

"Don't be upset, old friend," I said, patting his arm. "The woman is extremely perceptive, that's all."

Eleazar let out a low growl, just loud enough for me to hear. Like most Spaniards, he didn't take kindly to any insult of their favorite sport.

"You Americans will never understand..." he said, shaking his hand. "Futbol is played on the pitch, not only at the goal like most of your sports!"

"¿Hay algo ser dicho para consiguir una en la meta, no? Carmen said suggestively to her husband.

I laughed, unable to stop myself, and Bella looked at me questioningly.

"Didn't you take Spanish, sweetheart?" I asked.

"Yes, but I didn't quite catch that," she replied.

"I'll fill you in later..." I said, my tone matching Carmen's from before, causing Eleazar to roll his eyes and Carmen to giggle.

The following morning, after a rather embarrassing night of overhearing and being overheard, the four of us drove Eleazar's car (a gold Audi A8 quattro) to the hacienda in Malaga. It took us just over two hours to make the drive, and pointed out the entrance to Bella as we approached. It was marked with a large sign carved out of cedar that read "La Hacienda de Eternidad." Eleazar had purchased this land as an anniversary gift to Carmen the year they left the Volturi. It was a huge plot of land - nearly a hundred acres - lined with trees, with its own private beach. The high stone walls surrounding the land further ensured their privacy, making it the perfect getaway for vampires no matter what the weather.

Eleazar drove down the long driveway, passing the main house, and continued on down the road for another seven miles before pulling up in front of the stucco house from the picture Carmen sent on Bella's birthday.

"Here you are, old friend. Esta es la casita de Bella," Eleazar said with a smile as he gestured toward the small house.

Bella leapt from the car and threw herself into Carmen's embrace. "Thank you again, so much, sister," I heard her whisper.

"De nada, hermanita," Carmen answered.

Bella and I walked into our house as our friends drove back to theirs, reminding us before they left that we were welcome to come up whenever we were ready. As we walked through, exploring our new home, I was amazed by the ambiance. The house itself was a perfect traditional spanish home, with tile floors and natural colors everywhere. Carmen had added several decorative touches, including a framed photo of the four of us on the day of Bella and my wedding.

When we reached our bedroom, Bella turned toward me, a seductive look in her eyes, and placed an accusing finger against my chest.

"Wasn't there something you were supposed to translate for me?" she asked.

"Oh, you mean Carmen's comment in the car?" I asked. She nodded. "She was making a reference to the importance of scoring," I explained, shaking my head, trying to connect the Emmett-like comment to demure Carmen in my mind.

Bella's eyes went wide. Apparently I wasn't the only one who hadn't expected such a comment from the woman.

"I see... Interesting," she said, trying to hold in her smile. "So, we have a new house. Any vampire traditions we should uphold?"

I chuckled as her words took me back to our first night on La Bella Luce, when I had informed her of a "vampire tradition", of my own invention, of course, that demanded that I make love to her on said vessel before sailing it. I knew she was propositioning me know, but who was I to refuse?

"Oh, yes, sweetheart. Vampire tradition firmly requires me to lay you out in each room of this house by the end of the first week, starting with the bedroom," I said huskily, adding a soft growl onto the end of the sentence.

Bella giggled as I swept her up in my arms and laid her down on our new bed, but stopped abruptly when I covered her mouth with my own.

An hour later, I dragged her out of bed and told her to get dressed for the beach. She put on an adorable bikini that I recognized from our time on the island - it was aqua, with a flower and butterfly print, and had ruffles along the top as well as at the end of the skirted bottom, and I fought the urge to take it right back off of her. Why was it that I could never get enough of this woman?

I pulled Bella up onto my back, feeling the warmth of her skin as her body pressed against my back, and let out a contented sigh. We ran together through the property until we came to the beach. Bella gasped when she saw it, just as I did on my first visit. It was absolutely beautiful, with fifty meters of white sand leading to a crystal clear turquoise sea. Carmen and Eleazar were already there waiting for us, the two of them splashing merrily at the water's edge, their skin sparkling fantastically in the sun.

I carried Bella all the way to the water before setting her down, worried that the sand would be too hot for her delicate skin. She cried out happily as I set her down, delighted with the warmth of the water and, according to her, the beauty of the company sparkling around her.

The four of us had a marvelous few hours at the beach, playing several games of chicken and simply enjoying floating over the waves. We finally left the water and returned to our house when Bella informed me that she was feeling hungry, making arrangements for the next day before leaving our friends.

The next morning, Bella awoke early to get ready for her day out with Carmen. The two were planning on doing some shopping and sightseeing together, leaving Eleazar and I to our own devices. I planned on using this time away from our wives to have a long talk with my friend.

Once I had kissed Bella goodbye and watched as Carmen drove away, I ran up to the main house, not the least bit surprised to see Eleazar waiting for me. He gestured for me to follow him into the living room, and then the two of us sat down opposite each other on the sofa.

"Old friend, you have the look of a man with something pressing on his mind. Digame su problema."

"Elly, I am worried about Bella. Something strange is happening to her, and I'm not sure that I understand it, nor do I know what to do about it."

"What is so strange?"

"There are many things, mostly small, but they have begun to add up. First I noticed that her scent had changed - it is now a combination of the two of our scents, rather than simply her own. It's present even immediately following a shower, so I know that it's not merely my scent on her, but that it is in her. Next I noticed subtle changes in her body - her breasts have gotten larger, her hips a bit wider, her hair a bit thicker and glossier. All of which remind me of the changes I observed as Rosalie and Esme went through the change into vampires. She's also been very tired for the past few weeks - no matter how often she sleeps, or how well, it never seems to be enough for her. And finally, the strangest of all, she injested her own blood, intentionally, in France."

"Yes, I saw her in the restaurant in Madrid as well - I thought she might be trying to cut her hand, though I couldn't understand why. You suspect she was planning to drink the blood once again?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I suspected. Eleazar, do you think that, perhaps, all of the venom she has taken into her body when we are intimate could have caused this?"

"Honestly, Carlisle, old friend, I cannot say. I have never heard of anything of this nature before. Then again, there are so few humans who have such relationships with vampires. And Tanya and her sisters tend not to keep any of their human lovers for extended periods of time, so there's no way of noticing any change in them.

I don't disagree with you, though - it does sound like her body is becoming more like our own. She has no pain? No burn?"

"No! I have asked her repeatedly, but she always says no."

"Hmmm..... It is peculiar, I must say. Have you noticed anything else about her? Anything at all?"

I thought hard for a moment, trying to decide whether there was anything I had overlooked or failed to mention. There was only one thing, though it was embarrassing to admit, even to my friend.

"Only that my cock is perpetually hard when she is around - she makes me feel like a teenaged boy!"

"¡Gracias a Dios!" Eleazar exclaimed.

I looked at him with confusion - why would he thank God that my wife made me a sex-crazed fool?

"Calm down, Carlisle. I am simply relieved that you feel it too. Forgive me, please, old friend, for you know that I only have eyes for my Carmen, but your wife has a similar effect on me. Whenever I am near her, I want to take Carmen and run off somewhere. In fact, even Carmen has commented to me about her increased state of arousal since you two arrived."

"Have you picked up anything more from her, Elly? Is this some part of a gift showing itself to us?"

"I cannot say, Carlisle. Her mind continues to block me completely. If this is a gift, I cannot sense it."

I sighed. I was no further toward understanding than I had been before.

"Eleazar, if none of us understands what is happening, what should we do?"

"I don't know, Carlisle. I say that, as long as she has no pain, we leave it alone for now. And whatever you do, do not let Aro know what is happening here. I know you think of him as a friend, and someone you can trust, but there is another side to him. Aro is fascinated by everything that he does not know or understand. He wishes to be omniscient, I think - to know and understand everything on this earth. Mysteries appeal to him more than most others, and I fear that if he knew of Bella, he would want to take her to Volterra. Permanently."

"You really believe he would do such a thing? Violate his own law?"

"Carlisle, you know as well as I that the Volturi consider themselves above all other vampires. They may not see that the law must apply to themselves as well. Aro can easily manipulate the situation to say that Bella is not a vampire, and therefore not protected by any of our laws. It would not be hard, old friend. I'm not saying he is a danger to you, only that this situation may be a bit too tempting to him, thus you are safer not sharing it with him."

I pondered Eleazar's words in silence for well over an hour. He had given me no real answers, but much to think about none the less. I decided that I would call Alice later, and ask her if she has Seen anything that would help us to understand Bella's condition any better than we now did.

A few hours later, our wives returned from their excursions and joined us in the main house. Bella was a bit tired from the long day, and so we decided it would be best to relax inside for the evening. Carmen suggested that we watch some movies, and we agreed.

Unfortunately, in keeping with a silly family tradition, they chose to show three (awful) movies about vampires - Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Blood Rayne, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As the last movie ended, much to our collective pleasure, Eleazar turned off the television and looked at Bella.

"Ah, Querida Bella, do you feel educated now?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Oh yes, most certainly, Eleazar," my wife said in a teasing tone. "I suppose that last movie lessened my fear of the Volturi - after all, if all it takes is a sharp stick to end a vampire, they are really a lot less scary."

We all had a long laugh at her words. Suddenly, Eleazar interrupted us.

"Ssssshhhh! Everyone, be quiet!" His tone held concern and curiosity at the same time. We all quieted immediately, and waited.

Suddenly, my friend looked up at me with wide eyes. I stiffened. "Carlisle, do you hear that?"

**A/N: Oh, I am such a tease! Can you imagine that I am leaving you with this cliffie? But alas, I am. What does Eleazar hear???**

**PS, ¿Hay algo ser dicho para consiguir una en la meta, no? means "There's something to be said for putting one in the goal, don't you think?"**

**So, Chapter 20 is a big one. A HUGE one, I think. To get a preview, you have to send me a review. Let's make this our best reviewed chapter ever - show me how excited you are about this! I will do my best to write fast, and I'll have Chapter 20 up, barring any unforseen problems, by Friday. (If I get enough love, I'll shoot for sooner.)**


	21. 20 Oh My God

**A/N: You guys made my day with all the reviews from last chapter. Seems like I made you a little, um, angry? Impatient? Frustrated? LOL Sorry, it's my job. Not today, though. Today I will leave you satisfied (I hope). **

**A quick thanks to charverv, who referred to Bella's effect on those around her as "Bellaviagra", as well as BamaBabe, who thinks Carlisle has "super-cum", making me laugh so hard that I nearly had to change my clothes. You two are way too funny.**

**Now, I know you didn't come here to read my author's note, you want to read the chapter. So let's get on with it!**

**Who owns these characters? Oh yeah, Stephenie Meyer. Not me. But I sure am having fun with them.**

Chapter 20: Oh My God

BPOV

"Sssshhhhh! Everyone, be quiet!" Eleazar insisted, his voice an odd mixture of fear and curiosity.

The room fell silent. I looked around, from Eleazar to Carmen, and finally to Carlisle. All of them had a look of intense concentration upon their face, their heads cocked slightly to the side.

"Carlisle, do you hear that?" Eleazar whispered, his eyes wide.

I listened again, but still I heard nothing. Whatever sound they were hearing must be too far away yet for non-vampire hearing to pick up.

Another few seconds passed as I stared at Carlisle's face. I read his face, a mixture of confusion and disbelief, his eyes widening with what could only be fear.

"It can't be... Aro told me..."

"Carlisle? Honey, what is it? What's going on?" I asked, my voice shaking now with fear of whatever had so affected my husband.

"Bella..." he whispered.

I began to cry. The only other time I'd ever seen Carlisle so undone was after the battle with Victoria and the newborns. This couldn't be good. I felt arms wrapping around me, and recognized immediately that they did not belong to my husband. Looking up, I saw Carmen holding me in her embrace, while Eleazar desperately tried to calm Carlisle, who was now pacing around the living room.

"Carmen, what's happening? Is someone here? Someone bad?" I asked, my voice quivering.

"Querida, everything will be alright. I promise. Just give Carlisle a minute, then we will explain."

Her answer did nothing to calm me. I needed answers. I needed Carlisle.

It took a few minutes, but Eleazar finally convinced Carlisle to sit down. He came over and knelt on the floor in front of me, taking my hands in his. He looked into my eyes, and I could see just how upset he was - it was written all over his face. I could see the venom glistening in his eyes; the tears that would never fall.

"Bella, I'm so sorry, my love. I'm so so sorry."

"Carlisle, please! Please tell me what's going on! Who is here?"

"Bella, no one else is here."

"Then what did you hear?" I asked, growing more confused by the second.

"Sweetheart, the sound we heard was a heartbeat."

"Well, I have one of those. So do all the animals in the forest around us. Why is this such a big deal? Why do you look so frightened?"

My tears were now falling copiously, but I couldn't stop them. Carlisle reached up and gently wiped my cheek, letting his hand linger there for a moment.

"You're right, Bella. But this heartbeat wasn't yours, nor anyone's outside the room. The heartbeat was coming from here," he said, laying the hand that had moments ago been cupping my cheek onto my stomach.

I looked up at him in shock. "What on earth are you talking about, Carlisle?!" I cried.

"Bella, you are pregnant."

Minutes passed. Hours maybe. I'm not really sure. All I know was that the room was filled with absolute silence. For me, anyways. I suppose the vampires in the room could hear heartbeats and blood pumping through my veins and arteries. But no one spoke. No one moved. It was as if time had frozen us in place.

I was locked inside my head. All that I could do was think. How was this possible? Carlisle was a vampire. Vampires were not able to have children. Surely if they could, both Rosalie and Esme would have had a house full! Something was not right here. I couldn't wrap my mind around it. Surely Carlisle...and Eleazar...and Carmen... Surely they were all wrong. That was the only explanation that made any sense. Even though it really didn't.

I finally spoke. "Carlisle, can we go to our house?"

"Of course, my love," he replied, lifting me up into his arms, bridal-style. He promised to call Eleazar after a while, then ran us back to our house.

When we entered the house, he gently sat down on the couch, holding me in his lap. Looking into his eyes, I saw sadness. I wanted to reassure him.

"Carlisle, honey, I love you. I love you more than anything on this earth. My heart, my soul, and my body - they all are yours. You are the only man I've ever been with, Carlisle. Ever. Please don't doubt me. So obviously you've made a mistake here. I can't be pregnant."

"Bella, I would never doubt you. And I love you too, sweetheart, more than my own life. I don't understand _how_ this happened, but I can assure you, that unless you grew a second heart of your own this afternoon, you _are_ pregnant. And according to all the medical information I possess, I'd say you were about twelve weeks along already, since that is the time that the heart begins to beat."

"But Carlisle," I said, mentally counting the time since our wedding. "We've only been married for eleven."

"Bella, when is the last time that you had your menses?"

I laughed at my husband's old fashioned terminology while I considered his question. "On La Bella Luce."

"On the way to or from the island?"

"To."

He shook his head. "It doesn't add up. If that was accurate, then you'd be eight weeks pregnant at most - about six weeks since the actual date of conception. We shouldn't be able to hear the heartbeat yet."

"Carlisle, what _does_ make sense about this? You are a _vampire!_ You aren't supposed to be able to get me pregnant!"

"I know, I know! Aro told me long ago that vampires were sterile. There is no reason for us to biologically reproduce when our species is enlarged through the venom in a bite. Not to mention it would be impossible for a female vampire to carry a child when her body cannot grow to accommodate a growing fetus. And certainly, had Aro known this was possible, he would have informed me when I told him of our impending marriage! This is not supposed to be possible, I just don't understand how it can be true!"

I watched as Carlisle once again began to pace around the room, dragging his fingers through his hair over and over again. He was clearly becoming agitated with his inability to logically understand the situation. It was so...Carlisle.

"Honey?" I called.

Tugging his hair one last time, he rushed back over to me and took my hands.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?"

"Carlisle," I said firmly. "I am fine. I have not changed in the last few minutes. You need to calm down for a minute, please."

He stilled, but continued holding onto my hands as if they were life preservers.

"Carlisle? Forgetting about how odd and confusing all of this is for just a minute, just tell me what you're thinking."

He paused for a moment, then placed one of his hands over my stomach, a smile coming to his face.

"Isabella Cullen, I never dreamed that I could have this. Sure, I have wished for it at times, but I never thought that it was possible. A child - my own child! _Our_ child! My god, Bella, it's more than I could ever ask for. But, sweetheart, the reality of our situation has to be considered. I have no idea what is growing inside of you right now, other than the fact that it has a beating heart. The only thing that I am sure of at all is my love for you, and the knowledge that losing you would end me. I can not - _will not_ - go on if I lose you. You are the reason I exist. So it doesn't matter how wonderful this _could _be. I can only focus on what I know, and what I know is that this might not be safe for you."

My eyes filled with tears halfway through his speech. He wanted this; wanted for us to have a child together. And impossible as we had believed it to be, the reality before us was that I was carrying our child. And I knew the moment that he laid his hand over my belly and smiled that I would do anything in this world to give that to him.

"Carlisle, whatever is inside of me right now, you said yourself - it has a heartbeat. It cannot be that bad if it's at least partially human. I can do this. I _will_ do this, Carlisle. I'm going to make your dreams come true. For once in my life, I can give something to you."

I heard his phone ringing, but he ignored it, gazing into my eyes with concern and love.

"Sweetheart, you made my dreams come true the day that you told me that you loved me, and again the day that you became my wife. You are all I need in this world. Please, sweetheart, understand me. I cannot lose you!"

"You won't. I promise, I won't let you lose me. But I won't let you give up the one thing you've always wanted and never asked for. Let me give this to you, Carlisle."

He kissed me gently on the forehead. "You cannot promise that, Bella. And that's where our problem lies. How can you be willing to risk your own life to give me a child? How can you ask _me_ to risk your life for this, when we don't even know what _it_ is?"

"Because, honey, we already know the most important thing. Whatever it is, we made it together. It's part of you and part of me. That can't be all that bad, right?"

With that, Carlisle pulled me into his lap, holding me tight against his chest, pressing soft kisses into my hair. "I love you Bella," he whispered over and over again, "And I _will_ keep you safe."

Finally, the incessant ringing of his telephone was more than we could take, and he set me back on the couch and walked over to it. It was Eleazar calling, and Carlisle asked him to send Carmen down to our house while he went up to speak to him.

A few minutes later, Carmen was sitting on our couch and Carlisle was kissing me goodbye, promising to be back soon. I walked over to the couch and cuddled up next to my sister, sighing into her.

"Querida, tell me what is on your mind."

"Funny, I said the same words to Carlisle not twenty minutes ago - minus the querida, anyways." She laughed softly, sounding like tinkling bells. I sat up so I could speak to her face to face. "Carmen, I want this baby. For once in my life, I can give Carlisle something that he's wanted for centuries. I _can _do this for him."

"Bella, the sentiment is beautiful. But please, sister, take a step away from the situation for a moment. We don't know exactly _what_ the baby is. It might hurt you...or worse. And I can promise you, Carlisle will not survive that, even if the baby does. You are more important right now. And he is not the only one who matters. What about what you want?"

"I know that. But I also know that I can do this. Esme taught me a lot of things, and among those were that I can survive as long as I keep my heart beating. And I can do that - my heart beats for Carlisle. Esme also taught me about a mother's love. I can love this baby the way she loved us.... I already do, Carmen."

Carmen pulled me into a tight hug. "Oh, mi querida hermanita, you are going to be a wonderful mother. And I will do everything I am able to help you, I promise."

Carmen and I spent the next thirty minutes or so talking about what it would be like to have a baby in the family. We both started getting excited about the idea of decorating a room and picking out baby clothes. Carmen was insisting upon making a blanket for the baby, as she had learned how to crochet over a century ago, but had never had any reason to make a baby blanket.

"Okay, okay Carmen. We just found out I'm pregnant, maybe we should save some of this excitement for tomorrow?" I teased.

"You say that now, hermanita, but you forget that you've not yet told Alice. Or Rosalie."

I groaned, knowing she was right.

CPOV

I left my sweet wife and ran up to the main house. It was hard to tear myself away from her, but I really did need to talk this through with Eleazar.

I was fighting a battle within myself, not knowing what was the right thing to do. On the one hand, my dead heart simply wanted to burst with joy at the idea that I could truly be a father. My own child, with Bella, just as I'd imagined so many times in the past. The one thing I was sure I'd never have in this existence was now within my grasp. But at what price? I had no idea what our child was - I knew only that it had a heartbeat, despite it's young age. Was it possible that together, Bella and I created some sort of vampire-human hybrid? Or, by some miracle, was our baby a human? I doubted that. I had tested my own DNA decades ago when it had first been discovered how to do such things. My DNA was more similar to the Quiluete pack than it was to Bella's, I knew that. But what did that mean for my child? And, more importantly, what did it mean for my wife?

When I'd laid with her in the bed, before our wedding, picturing her swollen with my child, I suppose we'd been normal - human. There was no reason to fear the pregnancy. But now, my head was filling with multiple images; some of them were of me holding Bella in my arms, her body expanded to hold our child, both of us smiling. But others were dark - Bella soaked with blood, lifeless on the floor as a monster emerged from her corpse. Which one was our reality?

I pulled myself out of my rambling thoughts and entered Eleazar's living room. Letting my body fall down on the couch beside him, I sighed loudly.

"Elly, what have I done?" I asked morosely.

"Carlisle," he said, slapping me lightheadedly on the back, "You have created a miracle."

I opened my mouth to argue with him, but he stopped me. "Carlisle, take a moment before you speak, and think of what I've just said to you."

Doing as he asked, I closed my eyes and leaned back into the cushions. Was he right? Was I so focused on panicking over what I didn't know that I wasn't seeing the big picture?

"Elly," I said a few minutes later, "There's just so much we don't know."

"Of course there is, old friend. But what about all that you _do_ know?"

"Such as?"

"Such as the fact that your wife is carrying a child - your child - which has a beating heartbeat. Something which we thought was completely impossible. You are over three hundred and sixty years old, Carlisle, and yet you are going to have a child! It is nothing short of a miracle!"

"But Eleazar..."

"No, Carlisle. You have kept your faith all these centuries. You believed in a god who would not abandon us, who would perhaps still reward us for our attempts to be good despite our being vampires. The god you believe in has performed many miracles, has he not? Why do you then doubt that he has given this miracle to you? Of all of us, Carlisle, surely you have earned this gift!"

"What you say is true, Elly, but what if..."

"Carlisle. Take a step back for a moment, and just consider the facts. Your wife is carrying your child. You are going to have a son or a daughter."

I looked at my friend, who I had always considered to be wise, and realized that he was not only speaking from the heart, but speaking the truth. It _was _a miracle.

"She's pregnant with my child. My biological child. I'm going to be a father," I whispered, still barely believing it myself.

Eleazar jumped up off the couch, grabbing my arm as he did and pulling me up with him, and wrapped me up in a tight hug. "Yes, you are, my friend!" He exclaimed, a huge grin on his face. "And I will be an uncle!"

When he finally let me go, I sat back down on the couch and looked up at him. "But what about all that we don't know, Elly? How can I protect Bella if I don't know what's happening to her? This pregnancy, it's not textbook. She's showing signs of being further along than it's possible for her to be. And now that I think about it, her sudden desire for blood... The baby must be part vampire. There's no way she could maintain a pregnancy if she were changing. Eleazar!" I cried with shock. "I've been so blind! All this time... so many signs... It was all right in front of me, but I didn't see it!"

"Of course you didn't, Carlisle! You are a vampire, for goodness sake! Had we not heard a heartbeat today, none of us would ever have suspected she was pregnant - not when we thought it to be an impossibility!"

"There's so much to do, Eleazar! I will have to find a way to understand the progress of this pregnancy, so that I can protect Bella. And our child... Oh god! _Our child!_ Elly, I'm going to have a child!"

I was sure I must look and sound rather ridiculous at the moment, but I couldn't find it within myself to care. Surely if Jasper was here, he'd be singing show tunes while dancing around the room.

"Carlisle, Carmen and I will take care of the arrangements. The four of us will leave for your home in New Hampshire as soon as possible. Remember what I told you yesterday about Aro? It is even more true today. Under no circumstances can you allow him to discover this! I cannot say what he would be capable of if he knew of the existence of a child created by a vampire and a human, but I dare say he would go to any lengths to take said child for himself. Carmen and I are your family, Carlisle, and you can count on us to support and protect you through this, I promise you that."

I reached over and hugged my friend, knowing that his promise was nothing short of the truth. "Thank you, old friend. Thank you for everything," I said sincerely. "You'll have to forgive me now, but I must get back to my wife. She's in a delicate way, you know," I added with a wink, knowing he would appreciate the out-of-date wordage.

Eleazar clapped me on the back. "Just send my wife back to me when you arrive. I'm sure there's much you have to say and do tonight, papa."

I grinned, loving the sound of the nickname, and then ran out into the trees at my top speed, fueled by an immediate need to be with my wife.

**A/N: Well, there it is folks. What do you think? I got this chapter to you 2 days ahead of schedule, as a reward for all your lovely reviews. Show me some more love, and I'll get the next one to you this weekend!**


	22. 21 I Love This

**A/N: Wow, we have passed 800 reviews! I am beyond thrilled at this point. You guys are making my heart swell (even if you sent me 70 angry reviews after chapter 19's cliffie...). I can't thank you enough, so I'll just give you another yummy chapter. Sound fair? **

**Last time I checked, Stephenie Meyer isn't giving up the rights to Twilight. **

Chapter 21: I Love This...

CPOV

I ran back to Bella and my house as fast as my legs would take me. It seemed like nothing and everything had changed since our last conversation. Truly, I was still a bit terrified. Until I few hours ago, I had thought that it was completely impossible for me to impregnate Bella, but I had obviously been proven wrong. And to think that only a few days ago, sitting on the plane to Madrid, I wondered to myself what else would happen in my life that I believed impossible. Serves me right for asking, I suppose.

The problem was, I was a vampire. My DNA was no longer human. Which meant that I had no idea what the two of us had created. On the other hand, Eleazar had made good points. The baby had a beating heart, leading me to believe that it was, at least in some part, human. That gave me hope. I could only pray that this child was my reward for three and a half centuries of patience, perseverance, and undying faith. And I knew, even if I knew nothing else, that I would do everything to protect Bella and help her get through this safely. I just had to have faith.

Carmen, obviously having heard my approach, was waiting outside the door when I arrived. She placed a quick kiss on my cheek and squeezed my hand, smiling widely.

"Congratulations, papa. You take care of my sister - she's waiting for you in there."

I smiled, the name once again filling my heart with nearly enough joy to lift me off the ground. "Thank you, Carmen. And I promise you, I will always take care of Bella. We'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

She nodded. "Hasta luego," she said softly as she turned to run towards the main house, her long black hair trailing behind her like the tail of a kite.

I turned and walked through the open door, immediately spotting Bella sitting on the sofa in the living room. I was immediately in front of her, bathing her face in gentle kisses, between which I whispered my love for her. When I was finished, I moved up to sit beside her on the couch, pulling her back into my lap and wrapping my arms around her.

"You seem happy," she said with a smile.

"How could I not be, my love? I am here with the love of my existence, and she is carrying the miracle that is our child. You've made me happier than I have ever imagined being, sweetheart."

"As have you me," she replied.

"Bella, there are some things we need to discuss. First, I need you to make me a promise."

"Anything, Carlisle."

"I need you to promise me that you will be completely open and honest with me in anything that you feel in this pregnancy. You _must_ tell me if you need or want anything, or if you are in pain. I cannot keep you safe without your help this time, Bella."

"I promise, Carlisle."

"Everything, Bella sweetheart. Anything, even if you think if is insignificant, could be extremely important. You must tell me every tiny detail. Can you do that?" I had to make her understand just how important this was - I was going into this blind, and she was the only one who could help me see.

"I can, Carlisle, and I will," she said sincerely. She brought up her tiny hand to cup my cheek, and looked me deep in the eyes. "We will do this together, honey, you and me. We can do this."

Her optimism and faith were enough to satisfy my need for reassurance.

"You said there were things to discuss, honey. That was only one."

"That's true. I also wanted to tell you that, as much as I hate to do so, we're going to cut our trip short and return to Hanover tomorrow. Eleazar has expressed his concern about Aro's interest in this child, should he discover it's existence, so we must leave Europe immediately." I didn't want to scare her, but I needed her to understand what we were facing. She was my wife, my partner, and I would offer her nothing less than full disclosure.

"It's alright, honey. I think it's best we go home, especially since we don't really have any idea what to expect from the pregnancy. It would be better to be where we have help."

"I'm sure we'll have plenty of it, my love. Carmen and Elly are coming home with us as well."

She grinned. "It will be nice to go home. I've missed everyone," she said, cuddling back into my chest with a small sigh.

I let my open palm slide down her side to rest on her still-flat stomach, and she tilted her head back, smiling up at me. I couldn't deny my anxiousness to see that same stomach round with our child. How had I gotten so lucky? It wasn't often that a person (or vampire) could truly say that they had even more than they ever thought to wish for. I remembered the moment on La Bella Luce when we had seen the shooting star and Bella demanded that we wish upon it. I had already felt so fulfilled in that moment, so deliriously happy, that I could not even think of anything to wish for. All along, though, I had unconsciously wished for exactly what I have now. I had always longed for a child of my own, but found comfort in the family I created in my own reality. That night, just three weeks before our wedding, I had longed for Bella to carry my child, but dismissed the feeling as a ridiculous, unobtainable dream. But once again, Bella had found a way to make all my dreams come true. Truly, I was blessed.

Holding Bella close like this was like a salve for my soul. My doubts and fears, though certainly not gone permanently, were forgotten, and I was able to focus on my happiness and love. Her delectable scent, though changed now from its original form by the presence of our child, washed over me like a gentle breeze off the ocean, engulfing me in its sweetness. The heat of her body penetrated my cold exterior, bathing me in its warmth. I would never get enough of her.

Bella disrupted my musings by placing a tender kiss upon my lips. "Carlisle?" she called softly.

"What is it sweetheart?" I asked, looking down into her doe eyes with adoration.

"Make love to me."

I wanted to - more than anything, I wanted to - but I was paralyzed by fear. What if I hurt her, or hurt the baby?

Bella read my expression - she knows me all to well to fool her - and her own became less tender and more demanding.

"Carlisle! It was not even a week ago that you took me on the top of the Eiffel tower. And need I remind you of you 'traditional' taking of the mate in every room of this house that began yesterday? The only thing that has changed since then is that you now _know_ that I am pregnant!"

"But Bella," I interrupted, still riddled with insecurity and fear.

"No buts, honey. You make me promise that I'd tell you everything that I needed.... Well, I _need_ you!"

It was a good point, really. I _had_ just promised to make sure all her needs were fulfilled. I sat up, slipping my arms under her legs and lifting her up into the air as I rose. "Come, my love. I don't believe you've seen the guest bedroom yet..."

I took her into the bedroom, lying her down gently onto the bed, then stood back up. She started to reach for me, but I took her wrists in my hands and laid them back down on the bed.

"No, my love. Let me take my time and worship you tonight."

She made no argument, so I returned to my occupation. I unbuttoned my own shirt and slipped it off, letting it fall to the floor, and then did the same with my jeans. Now down to only my boxes briefs, which were not having much success in hiding my arousal, I crawled back into the bed, placing one hand and knee on either side of her body so that I was hovering above her. I brought my lips down to hers, giving her a long, sensual kiss before pulling away.

"I love these lips, Isabella. These are the lips I'll kiss every day of forever. The lips that speak to me, the lips that sing to me, the lips that caress my own with their softness," I whispered to her.

I pressed several gentle kisses onto her eyelids. "These eyes, these deep chocolate eyes, are the ones that I will look into every day of my existence. These eyes that I get both lost and found in. I love these eyes."

I ran my tongue along the rim of her right ear, gently nipping at the fleshy lobe at the bottom before moving to the left and repeating my actions. A low, throaty moan escaped her. "Your ears; I will whisper into them everyday. They are the instruments with which you will hear our child cry and run to him, as well as hearing your husband's words of adoration and desire as he makes you cum for him. I love these ears."

I moved my body back a bit on the bed, pressing my lips against her neck, nuzzling into it and peppering it with soft, open-mouthed kisses. "This neck, Bella? This is where I will place the bite that will make you mine for eternity." I let my tongue slide out between my lips and lick a line up her neck, collecting the salty sweet taste of her sweaty skin on my tongue. "I love this neck."

"Mmmmmm.....Carlisle, more...please......." Bella moaned.

Returning my lips to hers, I captured them in a passionate kiss, our tongues dancing together fiercely. I slipped one hand behind her back and used the other the cradle her head, pulling her up with me without ever leaving her lips. Once she was sitting stably, I brought my hands down to the hem of her shirt and dragged it upwards, exposing her soft ivory skin to me, millimeter by millimeter, until I was forced to break our kiss to pull the tank top over her head.

A groan rumbled from deep within my chest as I caught the first glimpse of her breasts. I lowered her gently back to the mattress and immediately my mouth found her breasts, licking and flicking the nipples one by one before softly suckling them. Bella whimpered as I let the now pert nipples slide out between my lips. "Oh, Bella... Your breasts, so full and soft, always calling out to me, begging for my touch. I will touch them, tease them, and taste them for all eternity and it will never be enough. I love these breasts, Bella."

Making my way down the supple flesh of her torso, I pressed my lips against her stomach, kissing it tenderly twice - once for her and once for our child - before letting my tongue trace concentric circles around her belly button. Bella was writhing below me, I could tell that she was desperately fighting the urge to reach out to me and to keep her hands on the bed as I asked. "I love this belly, sweetheart. This belly that will soon grow round with our child, sheltering and protecting him, as I watch in amazement and adoration. This belly that holds our own miracle. Yes, I especially love this belly."

I continued my descent down her body, kissing each bit of skin I revealed as I pushed her pants down over her hips and all the way down her legs, passing over the place that I knew she wanted me to stop, chuckling at the sweet whine that escaped her as I did. Finally, I pulled the pants off over her feel and tossed them down onto the floor, then turned back to her, lifting her foot, rubbing it for a moment before pressing several kisses over it. "These feet, my love, I cherish them. These are the feet that carried you down the aisle and into my arms. I love these feet."

Looking up at my wife, I could see the love and desire in her eyes, smiling at my antics while simultaneously begging for more. Who was I to deny this goddess?

I kissed my way back up her legs, inching closer and closer to my personal heaven at the apex of her thighs. The nearer I came, the louder and needier her sounds became. She was calling out my name breathily between her deep gasps and mewls. Every sound went straight to my cock, making it impossibly hard. I was quite sure that if she kept it up, I would cum without her ever touching me.

When at last I reached her hot, throbbing sex, the scent of her arousal so close to me sent my eyes rolling back in my head. I inhaled deeply, savoring that scent that I loved so much and that affected me so strongly. I placed two lingering kisses on the top of her mound, then looked up into her beautiful eyes. "Mmmmm...Bella. I love this delicious pussy...it's my heaven. The place where I find my home, the place where we find our physical connection. I will always return here so that we can discover our pleasure together."

Bella breathed a deep sigh, then cried out as my tongue dipped into her folds, lapping up the moisture that had already gathered. "Oh Bella... so wet... so sweet..."

"Carlisle! Oh god, Carlisle!"

I licked and flicked her clit, circling it over and over, then returned to her opening, lapping up her juices and thrusting my tongue into her depths. I used her sounds to guide my speed and intensity, bringing her close to the edge twice, then slowing down again. She was moaning incoherently, her voice dripping with need, urging me on. I was completely caught up in our mutual desire, my cock absolutely throbbing against the mattress when she finally lost the battle of her willpower. Her hands came forcefully to my head, her fingers winding themselves into my hair, pressing my face further into her sex.

"Ugh, Carlisle!... Please!....Please!"

I stepped up my efforts, bringing my right hand up to join in, teasing her little bundle of nerves while my tongue worked in and out of her slit. I felt her tightening as her back began to arch, her hips pressing up hard against my mouth. I gave her clit a twist between my fingers, pushing her over the edge. She cried out my name in ecstasy as I lapped up everything her body offered me.

When Bella's hand finally let up the pressure she was exerting on the back of my head, I moved at vampire speed to bring myself up so that we were face to face, stripping my boxer briefs along the way.

"Oh god, Bella, I need you."

"Please, honey....I want you inside of me."

I wasted no time pushing my hard length into her. We both groaned at the pleasure of being joined. _God, it feels so wonderful inside of her!_ As I moved in a slow pace in and out of her heat in long, languid strokes, I was even more conscious than usual of the need to be gentle with her.

We continued that way for several minutes before Bella was crying out for more. I shortened my thrusts, not pulling out quite as far, and increased my speed, still a bit too nervous to increase the force. She didn't complain. Nor did I.

"Carlisle, honey...please...kiss me..." Bella said in a breathless voice between thrusts. I immediately complied, bringing my lips down to hers in less than a second.

We stayed that way, our mouths moving together as our hips met each other with each thrust, the emotional connection just as strong as the physical. With out mouths joined this way, we were swallowing each others moans, taking them back into ourselves. I was quickly finding myself overcome by it. I broke our kiss, giving her a chance to catch her breath, and brought my lips to her ear.

"I love you, Bella...I'll love you forever..."

"Oh god....Carlisle...love you too...so much..."

I felt my climax approaching, and her breathing told me that she was close too. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her as close to me as I could, wishing that I could be completely absorbed into her. She was all I needed. She was my oxygen.

"My love... my wife... my Bella... love you... always... "

"I'm yours, Carlisle...for eternity..." she breathed, our words an echo of the last time we had made love on Isle Esme.

With one final thrust, Bella's back arched off the bed, pushing her chest up into my own as she cried out my name. Her inner walls clenched around me, pulling me over the precipice on which I was so precariously perched. Needing her still, I captured her lips with my own, kissing her deeply as I came.

When the pleasure had finally run its course, I fell to the bed beside her, my arms still wrapped around her, my legs intermingling with her own, and let my head fall to the side where I could still breathe in her scent as I nuzzled into her soft flesh. We laid there for several minutes, both of us trying to bring our breathing back to normal. With my sharp hearing, I noticed that her heartbeat was slowing, and, as with her breathing, becoming more regular - she was falling asleep.

I placed a tender kiss on her collarbone and whispered, "I love you, Bella. You are my everything."

It was close to three o'clock in the morning when the incessant ringing of the telephone finally became too much for me to take. It had been ringing every few minutes for hours, despite my efforts to ignore it. I sighed. I had a feeling I knew who was calling, after all, I was rather sure that Eleazar understood my meaning when I left him at the main house earlier in the evening.

Disentangling myself from Bella, I gave her two last kisses, one on her forehead and one on her belly, and then walked out to the living room and picked up the tiny silver phone that lay on the dining table.

"Yes Alice?" I answered.

"CARLISLE CULLEN! Do you have any idea how long I've been calling?!" She cried.

"Alice, forgive me. I have been a bit busy this evening. I would have thought you would have Seen that," I said, keeping my tone cordial and polite.

"That's why I'm calling, Carlisle! I _can't_ see what you've been doing! I can't see Bella!"

"Alice, what do you mean?" I asked in a panicky voice.

"Carlisle, I should have called you about this weeks ago when it started, I don't know why I didn't. Bella's been blurry in my visions for several weeks now, and I don't have any idea why. I could see her, she just wasn't quite clear. The image of her waking up as a vampire, however, was perfectly clear and unchanged. But now... She's so blurred, Carlisle, that I can barely tell she's there. And for the last few hours, you've been just as blurred as she was! What's happening, Carlisle? I'm scared!" Alice's voice came out sounding even more anxious than I had. I took a deep breath before I spoke, hoping to calm myself somewhat in an attempt to help us both.

"Alice, dear, it's alright. Bella and I are both fine. Tell me what you can see now."

A moment passed before she answered, during which I'm sure she was scanning the future.

"I can see you clearly again. But Bella is still a complete blur."

"That's as I suspected," I said thoughtfully. I was adding things up in my mind, Alice having unknowingly just brought me one more piece to the puzzle that is my child.

"Carlisle, is something wrong with Bella? Is there something we need to know?"

"Alice, I promise you that I will explain everything tomorrow evening when we arrive at the house. I need a bit more time to consider all of the information. If you wouldn't mind preparing Bella's old room for Carmen and Eleazar, they will be coming with us."

"Ugh!" Alice cried out in frustration. "I just tried to See the four of you arriving, and now I can't see _any _of you! You better have a damn good explanation for this tomorrow, Carlisle, because I do not like this interference with my power."

"Alice, I promise, it is a _very_ good explanation, and one that you surely will not see coming. Until tomorrow, then."

She said goodbye and I hung up my phone, returning the the bed where my wife lay sleeping to hold her in my arms where she belonged.

**A/N: Just a head's up, I started having lower back pain this morning, which is one of the signs of early labor. That, combined with the pressure I've been feeling all weekend since the baby dropped, has me slightly concerned that I'll be giving birth this week. So if you don't get an update from me by Thursday, you can assume that's the reason and expect further delay. I promise to return to the story, though. I won't desert you. If nothing happens, though, you'll have the next chapter by Thursday. **

**I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Carlisle is definitely overflowing with joy and love right now, and felt the need to express it. Next chapter will bring us all back to Hanover. What can you expect? Send me a review and I'll give you a little hint!**


	23. 22 Our News

**A/N: Stephenie Meyer is the owner and creator of all things Twilight. I, however, increased Carlisle's perfection. **

Chapter 22: Our News

JPOV

When Alice hung up the phone last night after speaking with Carlisle, her anxiety was only slightly less than before the call, but was now tinged with a streak of excitement.

"What's happenin' darlin'?" I asked my wife.

"Carlisle and Bella are coming home tomorrow! And Carmen and Eleazar are coming with them!" Alice exclaimed, thus explaining to me the cause of her excitement.

"So why are you still so anxious?"

"Carlisle said they were fine and that there was news, but that's all he told me! I still have no idea what's going on, and I'm worried. Jazzy, you don't think something's wrong with Bella, do you?"

Ali, baby, if there was something wrong, Carlisle would have told you," I reassured her, wrapping my arms tight around her tiny body. My sweet girl was always so worried about everyone in our family. Sometimes I thought that her visions were more of a burden to her than anything, always causing her to worry about things that _might_ happen. I sent her a wave of comfort and calm in addition to the love that I always projected to her when she was near me.

"Actually, he said it was good news. I don't know why that doesn't soothe me more," she said, her voice reflecting the calm I had sent, but sounding a bit disappointed. I knew that, as much as she often felt the strain from the responsibility her gift placed on her, she despised not being able to rely on it. I felt these same emotions from her years ago when we were dealing with the pack. I also knew that the best thing to do in these situations was to distract her. That was something I could definitely deal with.

"Come here, darlin'," I said. "Let Jasper soothe you."

A few hours later, just as the sun was coming up, my wife was sufficiently calmed, and I went downstairs to tidy up the common parts of the house like Alice had asked. She was upstairs with Rose preparing the bedrooms, and, if the curiosity rolling off the two of them in waves told me anything, it was that they were both pondering what might be going on with our little sister. I was fairly curious about it myself, but I couldn't call myself worried. No, if there was cause to worry, Carlisle would have called us, not the other way around.

I had just finished cleaning up the living room when Emmett came running in from the forest, just in time to get ready for his morning class after a good hunt.

"Cleaning, Jazz? What happened? You in trouble with Alice?" He asked with a loud laugh.

"Funny, Em. I'm cleaning up because our baby sister is comin' home tonight, and bringing Carlisle, Eleazar, and Carmen with her. Gotta' have this place lookin' presentable."

"Baby Girl's coming home?" He yelled excitedly. It really was sweet how much the big lug loved Bella. We all did, but really, it was Emmett and Alice who had loved her from the first. I can't remember a single time from the day they met when Em act just like an older brother to her. And she loved him in just the same way. My and Rosalie's relationship with Bella may have come along more slowly, but we all love Bella, as she loves us, with equal intensity now.

"Yep, that she is, Em. They'll be here tonight. Apparently they've got some sort of news for us, and it's drivin' my Ally crazy tryin' to figure out what it might be."

"Alice doesn't know???"

"No, man. Last night Bella went so blurry in Alice's visions that she can't tell anything about her anymore. Carlisle thinks he knows why, and is makin' us all wait till tonight to find out."

He groaned, and I laughed as I felt Emmett's frustration and curiosity hit me. He's never been known to have great amounts of patience, and I was suddenly glad that we all had classes today so that I wouldn't have to deal with his and Alice's impatience for the next twelve hours.

It turned out to be quite a good thing that day that I wasn't around the others. My own impatience to see my family was more than enough for me to handle. I think I may have been projecting it a bit unintentionally during my last lecture, as most of my classmates were seemed agitated and many were restlessly tapping their feet or their pens throughout the class. Even the professor seemed to rush through his lecture. Whoops.

When evening came, and the four of us were sitting in the living room anxiously awaiting the sound of a car in the driveway. I almost laughed as I realized how this scene reminded me so much of the day that Bella and Alice returned from England. Luckily there was enough nervousness amongst us to keep the excitement over their arrival from making me bounce around the room like a child on Christmas morning.

At long last, we heard the sound of the engine making its way down the long driveway. All four of us were instantly on our feet clamoring out the door and into the driveway. All anxiety was temporarily forgotten as our happiness took over. Finally, the car stopped in front of us. I knew Carlisle well enough to know that he would be driving, so I chose the front passenger door as the most likely place to find my sister. Opening it, I saw that I was right.

"Bells!" I cried, lifting her out of the car and hugging her close to me.

"Hey Jas!" she replied, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.

Within seconds, the whole family had us surrounded. Alice, Rose, and Emmett were all fighting for the chance to hug our sister, leaving poor Carlisle, Eleazar and Carmen abandoned. I handed Bella off to my brother and walked over to Carlisle, clapping him on the back and giving him a hug. As I welcomed him home, I felt his emotions flow through me. Joy. Ridiculous amounts of pure, unadulterated joy. _There's no way he's that happy over just seeing us again!_ A little lust mixed in there too, but I had pretty much gotten used to that already. I raised an eyebrow at him, and he smiled back, shaking his head. _What the hell was he up to?_

I stepped away from him to greet Carmen and Eleazar, noting that their emotional climates, though not as extreme, were quite similar to Carlisle. They were excited, joyous, and a bit lusty. I restrained my shudder. I may be a grown man and accustomed to feeling everyone's emotions, but Carmen reminded me a lot of Esme, and there's nothing weirder than feeling your pseudo-mother, or in this case pseudo-aunt's, lust.

Once everyone had greeted everyone else, we all made our way inside. I could feel the impatience in the room increasing as we were all waiting to hear Carlisle's news. Strangely enough, impatience wasn't the only emotion that had increased its intensity in the room. I noticed Emmett and Rose's ever-present lust had risen a notch or two, as had that of my own wife. _What the...? _

We all took our seats in the living room, and everyone looked at Carlisle expectantly. He smiled once again. I thought hard, but couldn't remember a time I'd seen him so happy. It was almost sickening the amount of joy he was emitting. The room had become silent as we waited. Well, silent except for all those sounds that only us vampires can really hear - the light rustling of the leaves as they blew in the breeze outside, the faint sound of the flowing water in the river, the rushing of Bella's blood through her veins, the beating of two hearts, one much faster than the other...

_What?!_

"Carlisle?!" I exclaimed, jumping up off of the couch. Everyone in the room turned to stare at me, wondering what would have caused such an outburst. "Oh my god...."

"It's true, Jasper," Carlisle replied gently, grinning at me. He looked to my side at the remainder of the family. "Bella is pregnant," he explained. "We are going to have a child."

I literally fell over from the force of the emotional reaction to the news - shock, confusion, ecstasy, joy, understanding, amazement, disbelief, thrill, lust - _Why on earth was that in there? - _another huge helping of shock, and a tiny bit of jealousy and anguish. I looked at my wife, who was standing with a almost cartoonish look of astonishment on her beautiful face, her mouth hanging open.

"What did you do, go to a clinic on your vacation or something?" Rosalie asked with an incredulous tone. The jealousy and anguish had come from her, though I'm not completely sure she even realized it herself, considering the fact that both emotions had been overpowered by shock and amazement and joy. There was nothing that Rosalie had ever wanted more than a child - we all knew that. But she had come a long way in that she was able to be happy for Bella and Carlisle now.

"No, Rose, it's our baby. Carlisle's and mine," Bella replied. The dose of shock in the room doubled.

"Holy shit, Carlisle! How the hell did you do that?!" Emmett cried.

"Well, Emmett, are you looking for a mechanical explanation here?" Carlisle asked, amusement coloring his tone. "You see, I started by undress..."

"STOP! Stop now!" Emmett cried, covering his ears with his hands and squeezing his eyes shut. "That's my baby sister you're talking about! Say no more!"

The whole room was filled with laughter, not even Emmett could hold it in.

"Um, Carlisle, I think what Emmett meant was how did your vampire, um, stuff... get Bella pregnant? I thought that was impossible," explained Alice, obviously mortified.

"Honestly, I have no idea. I know only that it is true," he answered.

"Carlisle! Hot damn! It turns out you have a gift after all! All this time we thought it was your strong compassion, when it turns out you're a god damn incubus!" I cried.

"I am _not_ an incubus, Jasper! I hardly think I would have managed two hundred years of celibacy had I been an incubus, not to mention three hundred and sixty plus years without ever bedding a human."

I began to laugh, not only at Carlisle's indignation - really, only this man could been insulted by being called an incubus - but also at the extreme crimson color of Bella's face. She may have showed us all up that day at the zoo with her newfound confidence, but this conversation was definitely more than our dear sister could take. I sent her a wave of calm and comfort, hoping it would help, and received a small smile in thanks.

"Okay, okay. I think that's enough of the sex ed lecture for one day," Alice interrupted, much to Bella's relief. "There's a far more important question that needs to be asked here!"

"And what is that, dear?" Carlisle asked.

"How in the hell did I not see _this_!? And why is Bella blurred in my visions?"

"Well, I think I have an answer for you about that. You can see vampires, and you can see humans. We know that for sure. You cannot see the Quiluete pack. What is the reason for this? Honestly, we've never known for sure. I've theorized, but never did any answer hold certainty for me. I do have more information to offer on the subject, however. After one of the training sessions we had before the battle with the newborns, I found several wolf hairs on my sweater. I was unable to contain my curiosity about the pack and how they came to be, so I did a bit of genetic research with the hairs. We vampires, I found out decades ago, have twenty-five gene pairs, whereas humans have only twenty-three. The wolves, as it turns out, have twenty-four."

"And why does that all matter now?" Alice demanded, her impatience growing throughout Carlisle's lecture.

"Because our baby is the combination of Bella and my DNA. Thus, Bella's twenty-three pairs and my twenty-five. The average of the two being twenty-four. Like the wolves."

"So it's the baby I can't see? Then why is Bella so blurry?"

"I believe so. I doubt you'll ever have a vision of our child, and as the baby is growing inside of her and Bella's future is so intertwined with it's at the moment, it's blurred her for you."

"Well that sucks," Alice said, annoyed. She had always hated the blindness she suffered whenever the wolves were around. Now it seemed she'd be facing an eternity of it. "I can't believe I'm going to have a permanent blind spot!"

We each had about a thousand more questions for Carlisle, but it quickly became obvious just how tired Bella was. Rose offered to take her up to bed so that we could finish our conversation. We all gave Bella a hug and offered her our congratulations before she and Rose made their way out of the room.

Once we heard the door to Carlisle and Bella's bedroom close, we got back to the business at hand.

"Seriously, Carlisle, how the fuck is this possible? And don't give me any more sexual innuendos about my little sister - I can't hear that!" Emmett said. You'd think we hadn't been listening to him make the same sort of innuendos the past fifty or more years.

"Really, Emmett, I don't think that anyone could answer that question," answered Eleazar. "I doubt seriously that even Aro knows that it is possible for one of us to impregnate a human, which is probably best for the good of the world."

"It seems that we have been wrong all this time in assuming that our venom does not contain genetic material. We had no reason to believe otherwise because a female vampire can obviously not bear a child, since her body cannot grow to accommodate one, and it is extremely uncommon for a male vampire to have sexual relations with a human, at least without it ending in her death. But it obviously is possible."

"So Carlisle, what exactly does Bella have growing in there?" I asked, hoping that it sounded tactful.

"I have no idea, Jasper. I can only assume that it is a vampire-human hybrid, but I don't know what that means. Obviously, the child has a beating heart. I also know that it is growing at an accelerated rate. From what I've deduced, it seems to be growing at twice the human speed."

"But Carlisle, that doesn't make much sense," interrupted Alice. "Vampires don't grow or change at all, so why a hybrid grow faster than a human?"

"I wasn't sure myself until you pointed out the trouble with your visions. Assuming that I am right about the genetic makeup of the child, the hybrid is more like the Quiluete pack than it is vampire or human. The Quiluetes, once their shape-shifting gene is activated, have an incredibly rapid period of growth. Jacob, for example, according to what he and Bella told me, seemed to physically age almost ten years in a matter of a month or perhaps a bit more. Once that growth happens, and the shifter has reached full maturity, growth seems to suspend completely."

"So you think that your child will mature at twice the human speed?" Carmen asked.

"Yes, I do. And hopefully, much like the wolves, will stop at the point of full physical maturity."

It was unfathomable, really. I realized that Carlisle's impressive intellect had already made much of this puzzle. I wondered whether he was right in his assumptions - they did sound rather logical.

After hearing all of this information, Carlisle's nauseating emotions now made sense. He was going to get the one thing that none of us had ever wished for - an heir. I have long known, as I am sure Edward also did, how much Carlisle has always wished for a child. He has hidden it from the family well, always wanting to appear contented with his lot in life, but it's always been there, just under the surface. I don't mean that he was ever unsatisfied with what he had - surely he wasn't. He had the five of us "kids", and took great pleasure in our place in his life. But knowing that he would finally get his greatest wish, I couldn't help but feel a rather sickening amount of happiness for him.

I stood up and walked over to the love seat, and sat down next to him. I put my arms around him in a tight hug, clapping him on the back to make it more manly.

"Congratulations, Carlisle. It seems dreams do come true after all."

We smiled at each other, silently acknowledging the meaning behind the statement. This was yet another new chapter for my family, and I was thrilled to be here to witness it.

RPOV

I can't even explain what I felt when Carlisle announced that he and Bella were having a baby. I mean, on the one hand, being a mother was the one thing I had always wanted and could never have. My initial reaction was jealousy. Why did she get to live _my_ dream? But it only lasted for a second, because it was immediately overpowered by the strongest joy I can remember since finding Emmett. _I was going to be an auntie!_

After a few basic questions had been answered, I caught Bella yawning and decided to take her to bed to rest. Pregnant women need to get enough sleep, I knew that, and seeing as how Bella was carrying god only knows what, she should definitely take good care of herself.

Bella got her pajamas on and settled into her bed, then I sat down next to her, taking her hand in mine.

"Sis, I want you to know that I couldn't possibly be happier for you or more excited. This news is nothing short of a miracle, and you and Carlisle definitely deserve it."

"Rose, are you sure you're okay about it?" she asked. It was so very Bella of her - that girl always put everyone else's feelings before her own.

"Bells, of course I'm okay. I'm better than okay - I'm going to be an auntie! I'm absolutely thrilled!"

The amazing thing was, I was telling the truth. That jealousy early had reared its head, but disappeared just as fast. There was going to be a baby in our family. Even if it wouldn't be mine, I knew that I'd get to be part of its life. And that was enough.

I gave my sister a hug, being careful to be gentle when I squeezed her, then left her to get some sleep. I was in the mood to find Emmett. I wasn't sure why, but I was feeling exceptionally aroused tonight. So much so, in fact, that I decided to take my Emmy for a run in the woods...

The next morning, Alice and I kicked Carlisle out of the bedroom as soon as Bella woke up so that we could drag her out of the house nice and early. She didn't seem too pleased with her wake up call, to say the least.

"What the hell do you two want?" She mumbled. "Can't you see I'm tired?"

"Beeeeelllllllaaaaa!" Alice whined.

"What Alice?" she asked testily.

"We have to go shopping!!! Just think of all the baby stuff we have to buy!"

I laughed heartily. While I totally agreed with Alice, I couldn't help but be amused at Bella, who had rolled her eyes at us just seconds before pulling the pillow over her head and groaning.

"Come on, sis," I said. "Indulge us this once....This is probably the only time any of us will ever have the chance to be pregnant, you know. We have to enjoy it!" Yeah, okay, I may have laid the guilt trip on a little thick, but it's not like it wasn't the truth!

Alice and I dragged Bella through every baby boutique in Boston, looking at layettes and strollers and cribs and every other item we could think of. Bella protested repeatedly how silly it was to do this already, especially when we didn't know much of anything about the baby, including the sex, but we shushed her each time. Loading up the last of our bags into the trunk of my M3, the three of us made our way back to Hanover, with a little less money in our wallets but a lot more joy in our hearts.

This was going to be the best year of my existence.

**A/N: Hi everyone, hope you enjoyed the chapter. It's been a bit of a rough week here (I was in the hospital with contractions yesterday, but luckily they stopped and I got to go home), but hopefully things will calm down a bit from now on. **

**Anyways, now that everyone is reunited and we've learned a bit more about what is going on with Bella and Carlisle's baby, the time has come for a bit of Cullen family time. What might they do this time? Review and you'll get a little hint!**


	24. 23 Human Experiences

**A/N: Stephenie Meyer is the owner of all things Twilight. The only payment I receive for this work is your praise, and truly, that's enough for me.**

**You guys have excited me to no end with the fabulous response to this story. It makes me want to work harder to please you more. We are so close to 1000 reviews, I can't wait to make it over that threshold!**

**This chapter is some Cullen family fun time, something that I've usually had great response to. I hope you'll love it!**

Chapter 23: Human Experiences

EmPOV

The news of Bella's pregnancy had really thrown us all for a loop at first. I was so relieved to see Rosie's reaction - when I first heard Carlisle's announcement, I expected the worst. I figured she'd either be crazy jealous and we'd see the return of Ice Bitch Rosalie, or that she'd be completely depressed and inconsolable. She surprised me though - my girl was thrilled! I guess she realized that being an auntie was the next best thing to having our own baby. I was pretty excited myself - just think of all the cool stuff Uncle Emmett could teach the new kid!

Not only was she not upset by the news, but it seemed to make her really, really happy. Rosie took Bella up to bed last night while the rest of us stayed behind to ask Carlisle a bunch of questions that he didn't know the answer to. Now _that_ was unusual - Carlisle always had the answers! I bet it felt even stranger to him than it did to me, though.

When Rosie finally came back downstairs, she walked slinkily across the room towards me, her hips moving more than usual. She was trying to get my attention, and damn if it didn't work! She sat down on the couch so close to me that she was almost in my lap, and leaned in close, her full, gorgeous tits rubbing agaist my forearm, and whispered in my ear.

"Hey, Grizz... Want to go for a hunt?"

She did _not_ have any desire for a drink, that much was obvious. Not to mention we had hunted the night before. Oh no, when my Rosie calls me 'Grizz', she is in the mood for some Emmett-lovin'. So I politely excused us from the room and we tore off into the woods, where we spent the night re-arranging the trees, Emmett and Rosie-style.

Since even Carlisle was clueless about the pregnancy, we all decided it was best to prepare for the worst. The worst being that Bella wouldn't make it through this, at least not as a human. Rosie and I suggested that we all make a list of our ideas for things Bella should do while she still could - kind of a bucket list, if you will. Neither Carlisle nor Alice appreciated the title, but they liked the idea all the same. So we all wrote down our ideas on little slips of paper and put them in a hat so Bella could choose one each day. I'll admit, I threw in mostly sporty activities - I figure if Bella's going to be a graceful vampire soon, the least she could do is give us a few more laughs on her way out of humanity. I sure hope she picks one of mine first!

The morning after we got all of the ideas in the hat, I shook it up and handed it to Bella. She reached in and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Opening it up, she looked at it for a minute, then burst out laughing.

"Seriously? This has to be Emmett's idea!" she said through her giggles.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"Em, since when is playing miniature golf an important human experience?" she said, her laughter practically choking her.

"Since it was invented. And since it'll be funny as hell to watch!" I defended, folding my hands across my chest smugly as I earned plenty of laughs from the rest of the room, even from Bella herself.

"Alright, then, one afternoon of vampire mini golf, here we come!"

In true Alice style, my little pixie of a sister had planned ahead for this outing, and we all ended up dressed like we were going on a professional golf outing. Seriously. She dressed us so that each couple was coordinated. For example, I was wearing light blue tailored pants, a blue and white striped polo shirt, and a white golfer's cap. My Rosie had on a little blue, red, yellow, and white plaid skirt with a red polo. She put us both in white tennis shoes. We looked like we were ready for Halloween. Definitely not like Emmett and Rosie, that's for sure.

We took two cars to the course, Carlisle and Eleazar and their girls in the Mercedes and Jasper and I with our girls in the Jeep. It wasn't too far from our house, so we got there in no time. I pulled in ahead of Carlisle, and after I hopped out of the Jeep, I turned to look at his car, seeing him gently lift Bella from the car as if she were made of glass. _Oh man, I thought he was careful with her before - I can see that this is going to be much, much worse!_ He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead after he set her on the ground, and then the two of them walked holding hands to the cashier's cabin. I rolled my eyes, but didn't say a word. Carlisle may look like he just finished a crash course in being a pussy, but the man is happy, so who am I to complain?

About ten minutes later, we were all fitted with out putters and headed out to the first hole. It looked pretty simple. It was shaped like a number nine, with two large rocks sitting about two fifths of the way from either wall on the straight part of the green. The hole was directly in the center of the round part of the nine. Eleazar was up first. I was as excited about seeing him and Carmen play as I was Bella. They have been vegetarians for a long time, just like our family, but they tend to be much more anti-social than the Cullens. In Alaska they live far out of society in the forest, and in Spain they have their huge hacienda that keeps them really isolated as well. Being so far away from humans, they don't often have to _act_ human.

Eleazar stepped up to the starting point of the hole and set down his little green golf ball. He stood up, and lined up his shot. His arms swung back and then, bam! The ball went flying! In the air! Don't ask me how the guy got the ball so far off the ground using a putter, but he did it. Not knowing what else to do, I yelled out "four" so that any other players wouldn't get beaned in the head, and then fell onto my knees next to Jasper, gasping for air because we were laughing so hard.

It took a few minutes to compose myself, but when I did, I noticed that everyone else, even Carlisle, was still snickering softly. Alice, being prepared as always, reached into her bag and pulled out another green golf ball.

"Here you go, Tio Eleazar," she said, grinning at him. "Try to keep the next one on _this_ green, alright?"

Eleazar mumbled a string of expletives under his breath in Spanish, then stepped back up to take his second shot. I guess this time he was trying to do the opposite of whatever he had done on his first shot, and the ball moved a whole seven inches from its original location when he hit it.

Thirteen putts later, Eleazar got the ball in the hole, and we rewarded him with a round of applause.

"Hey, Eleazar," I said, putting my arm around his shoulder. "I know you Spaniards probably don't play mini-golf all that much, but the goal here is actually to get the _lowest _score possible!"

I laughed loudly, and Eleazar punched me hard in the gut, calling me a "pendejo." I jabbed him back in the shoulder to tease him, not mad at his insult - the guy was having a moment, after all.

We walked over to the second hole after everyone else had taken their shots on the first, and eyed it. It was a straight line from the starting point to the hole, but there were two speed bumps in between. This one could be tricky. I couldn't help but notice how the two bumps were so similar in shape, and even size (in comparison to the backdrop) to my wife's glorious breasts. As I saw the peak of the hill, it made my wish I could take the peak of one of her tits between my lips and suck on her sweet, rock-hard nipples...

Rosie was up first this time. I stood back from her a few steps and watched appreciatively as she walked up onto the green. As she bent down to place her ball, I noticed an immediate reaction in my pants. _Damn, my woman has a fine ass!_ _And really, with the way looking at it was making my cock throb, you'd think that I hadn't had that in a long time, despite the fact that we had spent the whole night fucking our brains out._

As I tried to shift myself without anyone noticing, I wondered what was wrong with me. I mean, sure, my wife is every man's dream, and I pretty much want her all the time, but it seemed much worse than usual the past two days. I didn't know what was up with that, but with the exception of the public woody, I really couldn't complain.

Rosie hit her little red ball, I guess trying to get it over the hills without knocking it off the green like Eleazar had done already, but not quite hard enough. It went almost to the peak of the hill, then rolled back towards her. She tried a second time, harder than the first, and it crossed the first hill, only to fall back on the second and get stuck in the middle. Rosalie stamped her foot in anger, and damn if it didn't make me even hotter - she could really be a wildcat when she's pissed. _Mmmmmm.... Maybe I'll take her for a quickie behind the windmill on the sixth hole when she's done here..._

It took her a few more putts, but she finally got her ball in the hole. She was obviously irritated by her difficulty with the hole - my lady didn't like to be anything less than perfect at anything - and slapped her putter down a bit too hard in the dirt next to the green, leaving a decent sized gouge in the earth. Carlisle moved in quickly to adjust the soil while Jasper slipped his arm around my wife in an effort to calm her down.

"Rose?" Alice began. "I think you should walk to the equipment office with me."

"Why?" my wife demanded.

"Take a look at your club," Alice explained, motioning toward the piece of metal in Rosie's hand, which was now shaped like her fist at the top.

"Whoops," Rose laughed. "Come on then."

The girls walked away, and I walked up to place my blue ball at the starting point. _Blue ball? How appropriate. _

The next few holes progressed similarly. On the third, Jasper went through eight yellow balls, completely at a loss for a way to avoid the water hazard until we finally allowed him to pick the ball up and toss it over the bridge. The fourth hole was Alice's turn to shine, managing to skip the series of tunnels altogether by hitting the one bump in the ground the caused her ball to bounce over them and land near the hole. It was actually a rather impressive move, I have to give her credit there.

The fifth green was luckily quite simple, and we made it through with no major incidents, other than a slightly over-the-top congratulatory kiss from Carmen to Eleazar when he scored a five on the par three hole. Now, don't get me wrong, Carmen is definitely hot in her own right, but it's still a little freaky to see your pseudo-aunt practically mount her husband in public. I wondered what the hell was up with Jasper then. It seemed like we were all riding the lust train today, and he really needed to rein it in.

The sixth hole was the one I'd been thinking about earlier when I was hot for Rosie. It had a big windmill in the center of the course, which you either had to go around or through with the ball, all while avoiding the giant fan blades. If you went through the center, your ball would end up directly in the hole, but it was much harder to get the ball through the blades and into the tiny hole than it would be to go around. I looked at it for awhile, contemplating my strategy before I finally placed my ball.

Straightening myself up to line up my shot, I suddenly felt Rosie's presence behind me. Her hands were on my hips, her tits pressed into the muscles of my back. "Come on, Grizz, let's see what you've got," she whispered sultrily.

I took my shot, aiming toward the middle, just as she used her right hand to slap my ass. My ball did not roll toward the center hole of the windmill, but instead flew, two and a half feet off the ground, right through the windmill. Needless to say, that was _not_ the plan. We ignored the rest of that hole and moved quickly to the seventh, hoping that no one noticed the damaged windmill before we left the course.

I thought that things were as bad as they were going to get when we walked away from the sixth, but that was nothing compared to what happened on the seventh. No, the seventh hole was going to prove to be prove to be an epic moment that would forever be remembered in the Cullen family history. Calling it an utter disaster would be greatly underselling just how bad it was.

The hole was designed to be a complete pain in the ass. It was a straight shot from the start to the little cup, but in the middle was a pyramid ramp that had a three inch wide flat space on the top. To get over the ramp, you had to aim just right to get the ball onto that three inch space. If you didn't, your ball would fall down one side or the other and our into the grass, forcing you to start the hole over again from the beginning.

Bella was the last to take her turn on this hole. After her eighth straight ball fell down the left side of the ramp, Carlisle decided to just stand next to the ramp and fetch the balls so she wouldn't run out. Her ninth shot once again fell down the left side. Carlisle, his back turned to us, bent down to retrieve it. As he did, a massive wave of lust flooded my system.

_Nice ass, Carlisle_, I thought. My next thought was _What the fuck?!_ That's when I was sure Jasper was totally playing me. So I dove at him, catching him completely off guard and tackling him on the ground next to the hole. I threw several punches and was bellowing at him the hole time, calling him a prick and a jackass for using his power against me in public. He rolled us over, trying to get the dominant position while at the same time trying to make me stop my attack. I don't know how long we wrestled each other on the ground before Carlisle and Eleazar were able to pull us apart.

When they finally did, I could see that Carlisle was no longer my "brother", but had instead fully returned to "Dad" mode. I was in deep shit.

"Let's go home," he said crisply, gathering Bella in his arms and walking at a very fast pace to the parking lot. We all followed close behind him, Jasper and I at the back of the crowd, our heads hanging low, knowing we were going to get our asses handed to us at home.

CPOV

I couldn't understand what on earth was wrong with Emmett to attack Jasper so suddenly, in public, the way that he did. I was furious with him as well. No matter what reason he may have thought he had, it was no excuse for exposing us to humans! We were extremely lucky that it was a cool, overcast day, meaning that the golf course was relatively empty. I was fairly certain that no one saw what happened by the seventh hole, but I really had no way to be certain. There was no doubt that the thunderous sound of Emmett's body slamming into Jasper's was heard by anyone present at the course, so I knew that we had to get out of there immediately.

I told the others we needed to leave, and then I picked up Bella and, in a whisper, instructed her to feign an injury to act as our cover for leaving so abruptly. We all walked as quickly as possible, not needing to garner any more attention at this point, to the parking lot, loaded ourselves into the car, and drove back to the house.

Twenty minutes after the incident on the seventh hole, as it would now always be known, my entire family, including Carmen and Eleazar, was gathered in the living room. I was pacing in front of the fireplace, trying to decide how best to deal with this. When I finally turned back to face everyone, I noticed that Emmett was giving Jasper rather unpleasant looks.

"Emmett, would you like to explain yourself?" I asked, though it wasn't really a question, as he very well knew.

"I'm sorry, Dad," Emmett replied, looking down at the floor. "I felt it all day - Jasper kept sending out lust and it was making me so crazy. Really, it was all I could do to keep my hands off Rosie. But then, at the seventh hole, he blasted me with it when you bent down, making me think I wanted to fuck you! I was pissed, and reacted instinctually. Really, that shit is just obnoxious, Jasper!"

_Thank god vampires can't blush - I don't know who is more embarrassed by Emmett's confession!_

"Dad! I swear, I wasn't doing anything!" Jasper yelled in his own defense. "I felt it too, actually. I was having a very hard time holding it in without projecting it. And yes, Emmett, the pun was fully intended," he added snarkily. "But I will admit, at the moment right before you attacked me, I got hit with a really powerful bit of lust, and it's possible that you felt some of it, because I couldn't get control of it fast enough. But it was _not_ intentional!"

"Alright, Jasper, I believe you. As for you, Emmett, I think you know that Jasper, while he may play those games at home sometimes, doesn't use his power for fun in public. It's too risky. And no matter how angry you might be, you _can not_ expose us in public! Really, Emmett, it's not as if this is a new bit of information to you! We have only just gotten the Volturi threat out from over our heads for sharing the secret with Bella! Do you really want to have them execute all of us over some lust during a miniature golf outing?"

I was exasperated, to say the least. Sometimes it was very frustrating to be the leader of the family. The family that included, despite their many decades of life on this planet, a bunch of teenagers. If vampires could get headaches, I'd probably have a constant one.

"You're right, Dad. I'm really sorry," Emmett replied, his remorse obvious.

"Carlisle?" came the bell-like soprano of Carmen.

"Yes, Carmen?"

"I felt the lust as well, and you know I've been feeling it for awhile now."

This was slightly embarrassing to discuss with my best friend's wife, but I really needed to understand the situation. "Yes, Carmen, Elly told me. Is there any pattern you've noticed?"

"Sí. It is more potent the closer I am to Bella. I do not feel it at all - well, not more so than normal, anyways - when she is not around."

I could see the glimmer in Emmett's eyes, and knew that he was imagining scenarios including my and Elly's wives. I nodded to Rosalie, who promptly slapped her husband in the back of his head. He cried out, but was smart enough not to ask what the slap was for.

"Has anyone else noticed a similar reaction?" I asked.

"Yes, actually. Last night I was alone in the bedroom with Bella, and practically attacked Em as soon as I left her," Rosalie said.

"Me too," replied Jasper. "Ever since you guys returned, I've noticed a major increase in the amount of lust in the room, even at times when it's inappropriate to have such an emotion present."

The others nodded in agreement. What did it all mean? I paced for a few moments in front of the fireplace, trying to piece together the little bit of information I had: when Bella was around, it made us all more amorous; Eleazar was unable to pick up on the presence of any gifts because her mind blocked him so completely; Jasper noticed the presence of lust even when the timing was all wrong...

"Wait a moment!" I cried. "Jasper, did you notice lust coming from the other humans while we were at the golf course, or only the vampires?"

Jasper thought for a moment before he spoke. "There was lust with the humans, but not more so than is the usual when they see us. So I would say no, only the vampires have been affected. Why do you ask? Do you know what's going on?"

"I do, Jasper, I think that I do."

**A/N: Sorry to leave you hanging, but you know how I love to tease you. What does Carlisle know? Anyone think they've figured it out? It will be revealed in the next chapter, I can promise you that. Until then, leave me some love and I'll get you a preview. You know I'm good for it!**

**Oh, and "pendejo", according to my sources, is a rude name to call someone in Spanish. I think it means dickhead. **

**Now, for my other announcement. I hate leaving author's notes as a chapter, since it messes with the flow when you are reading, so I've come up with a better option for communicating with you, my readers. Since I'm so close to delivering my own baby, it would be nice to have a way to let you know what's up with me, as well as when you might expect another chapter. So here's announcing the opening of my blog: **mrsalreyamifanfic (dot) blogspot (dot) com. **Please come check it out and join it so that you'll get notified when I post. **

**I will be using the blog to post teasers of upcoming chapters, but I will make the email previews that I send in response to the reviews slightly juicier so that you still feel encouraged to review. Anyways, hope to hear from you both here and there soon!**


	25. 24 Humiliation and Domination

**A/N: Ok, after the long weekend of fanfic not working, I am finally getting this together! So, I am **_**hoping**_** that the reason for the big decline in reviews last chapter was the problems with fanfic, not the fact that you hated the last chapter... Anyways, show me some love this time, otherwise you might permanently crush my ego.**

**There is a lemon in this chapter, blocked off with stars in case you aren't into that. ;)**

**Stephenie Meyer is the proud owner of all things Twilight. I am using her characters for my own (and hopefully your) enjoyment, no profit involved. **

**Also, credit must be given to charverv, who invented the "Bella viagra" term. I had to use it, babe!**

Chapter 24: Humiliation and Domination

BPOV

As I watched my husband pacing in front of the fireplace, I could nearly see the the wheels turning in his head as he tried desperately to figure out how to explain the ridiculous amounts of lust that had been recently been affecting our family. It was a bit embarrassing, really, to listen to my brothers, and even worse, my sisters, admit that being near me made them, for back of better terminology, horny. But I wanted to understand just as much as anyone else, so I was dealing with my own discomfort.

Suddenly, Carlisle looked at me, his eyes locking with mine, and I saw the flash of understanding in his eyes.

"Wait a moment!" he cried. "Jasper, did you notice lust coming from the other humans while we were at the golf course, or only the vampires?"

A moment passed while Jasper considered the question. "There was lust with the humans, but not more so that is the usual when they see us. So I would say no, only the vampires were affected. Why do you ask? Do you know what's going on?"

Carlisle's glorious smile lit up the room. "I do, Jasper. I think that I do." He walked over and dropped down to his knees behind the coffee table, so that he sat at the focal point of the room. "Pheromones," he said. "The root of our problem, I believe, lies in Bella's pheromones."

"You think you could elaborate on that a bit, Dad?" Emmett said, annoyance in his tone.

"Yes. Pheromones are chemical signals, present in all animals. They serve many purposes, one of which is to let others know that the creature is available for mating. Many scientific studies have been done over the years, and despite marketing efforts that suggest otherwise, humans don't necessarily respond to these chemicals in any noticeable way. Vampires, however, are not human, and cannot help but respond.

Bella, now that she is pregnant," he paused for a moment, looking at me with guilt and apology in his eyes before continuing, "has, like many pregnant women, seen a definite increase in her sex drive."

I groaned inwardly. I _so_ did not need all of my siblings to know that! _Could this get any worse? _Jasper gave me a sympathetic glance, no doubt feeling my embarrassment.

"I'm sorry sweetheart," Carlisle said sweetly, "But it was a necessary bit of information for the explanation."

I nodded, understanding. Not that it made me less awkward.

"Anyway, the increase in her desire would cause an increase in her body's production of pheromones. Thus, her body is calling to all of us, arousing us, with it's chemical signals. That explains why the humans are not affected while we are.

But there is more. Bella's increased desire is being felt by Jasper's gift as well. So Jasper is being forced to deal with not only his body's chemical reaction to the pheromones, as well as all of ours, but her own lustful emotions as well. I can only imagine that it would be increasingly difficult for Jasper to manage all of that without projecting it onto the rest of us."

_Oh god, please let a hole appear in the floor so that I can crawl into it and disappear... _

"Wait, let me get this straight," Emmett interrupted. "What you are saying is that our little Bella here is so freaking lusty that her body is sending out signals to anyone nearby to get them to come do her, making all of us horny too? Oh god - just the thought kills me! Bells is like a living and breathing viagra pill for vampires!" His booming laughter filled the room, quickly joined by several others.

_Did he really just say that?_

Even Carlisle looked a bit embarrassed now, but he still managed to answer. "I suppose that you could say that, Emmett, although it's a much cruder phrasing than I would have chosen myself."

Mortified.

Absolutely horrified.

Sure, I had been embarrassed many times over in the course of my twenty-three years, but this was a whole new ball park. This far surpassed tripping over flat ground or falling on my butt in the snow or any other ridiculous example of my klutziness. It made my drunken seduction attempt on my twenty-first birthday look like a day at the beach.

I had serious doubts that my skin had ever been such a dark crimson shade before, nor would it ever again. Because _this_ was the most humiliating moment of my life: my brother had just informed me that, thanks to my presence, my husband, brothers, brother-in-law, and sisters are all in a constant state of arousal. I, Bella Cullen, was vampire viagra.

_Oh my god._

I knew that I had to get over this feeling of intense embarrassment. It wasn't doing me any good, and only giving Emmett more reasons to laugh at me. So I took a deep breath and tried to call back my humor. It took me a moment, but I finally got myself under control.

"Alright, alright. Get your laughs in now, while you can. Just remember, I may be the viagra, but _you_ are the ones taking the pills!"

That shut them up real quick. Jasper looked like he was choking, Rosalie and Alice were grinning, most likely at the fact that I had gathered the guts to make such a comment, and Emmett looked a little disgusted.

"What's wrong, big brother?" I asked innocently. "Do I make you horny, baby?"

Admittedly, my Austin Powers impression was awful, but it was enough to get us all laughing again.

It was definitely an improvement in my life that I could laugh at myself rather than just blush constantly. Sure, I still blushed a little, but I was comfortable with myself now, in a way I hadn't been when I was younger.

A few minutes later, we had all calmed down a bit. It seemed that the laughter had been enough to dispel all of the earlier tension in the room, and Carlisle had even moved from his spot of the floor to sit next to me on the love seat. His arms were wrapped around me and he was softly nibbling at my earlobe. I was trying my hardest not to pay too much attention - wouldn't want to cause a giant orgy in our living room, after all. I'm not sure I was doing such a good job, however, since it seemed like all the other couples in the room were suddenly acting more affectionate with each other as well.

Luckily, I was not the only one who noticed. Jasper cleared his throat loudly, a human habit that was completely unnecessary for him, but still got him the desired results.

"Carlisle," he said. "First of all, I have to ask you to stop that right now, as I only have so much control over here." I turned my head toward my husband, who had the dignity to look slightly ashamed. Only slightly, though.

"Thank you," Jasper said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I also wanted to mention that I think there's more to this than just Bella's pregnancy."

"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked, obviously intrigued by the idea of more mystery.

"Well, at the risk of causin' Bella's head to permanently change colors, I think I aught to point out that your raging lust didn't start when your wife got pregnant."

_Oh, come on, brother!_

"Thank you for pointing that out, Jasper," Carlisle said through gritted teeth. I knew he was rather embarrassed once again. _Yeah, I know how you feel honey._

"I'm not sayin' it to make you uncomfortable, Carlisle. I'm sayin' it because I think you're missin' somethin'. I noticed this back as far as we've known Bella. Don't you remember how much Edward always complained about Newton and Crowley? He hated listening to their thoughts because all they ever did was run Bella porn in their heads. Edward himself was constantly fighting against his own desire, and not just for her blood. And don't even get me started on Jacob Black... Now you, Carlisle, and not to mention that waiter in Scotland. Think about it."

Carlisle stiffened at the mention of the other boys, especially the Scottish waiter, who I knew particularly peeved him. The room was quiet for a moment as everyone thought about Jasper's words. I knew there was truth to what he said. It was something that I had never been able to understand - there were women so much more beautiful than me, hell, I went to school with Rosalie! - but those boys obsessed about me way too much. I used to fear for their lives when Edward was nearby.

"It makes sense," Alice whispered. "Why haven't we ever thought of it before?"

"Querida," Eleazar said gently. "It is difficult to say with any certainty, since your mind blocks me so completely, but I am beginning to wonder if you don't have some sort of power that is causing the lust."

"You mean I'm an empath like Jasper?"

"No, no. I don't think so. If you were we'd feel other emotions, not only lust from you," Eleazar said with a grin and a wink. "I think that your gift is something more like a siren's call for men - though it doesn't seem to affect all men. I don't quite understand it myself. What about you, Carlisle? Any ideas?"

"No, not much more than yourself," Carlisle replied. "Perhaps it is a call that is voluntary to answer? For I know that I did not feel anything like this toward Bella until our first fall here in Hanover. And by that time I had known her for several years."

"And I've never wanted Bells, I swear!" Emmett interrupted, his voice urgent. I was pretty sure he was being honest, but more sure that he was just saying so that Rose wouldn't question him.

"Nor I," Eleazar added.

"Me neither," came Jasper's reply as well. "Not that you aren't beautiful, sis, I just don't need to look past my Ali-cat here."

I smiled in gratitude to Jasper. While I was glad that none of the guys had been affected by me, I still appreciated the little ego boost.

"It's very interesting..." Eleazar mused. "I'll be so interested to see how it manifests once she is changed."

I was suddenly distinctly disturbed by the way this conversation had gone. I was no longer embarrassed, though. Instead, I was ready to cry. If I had some crazy vampire power that allowed me to lure men in, what did that mean about my relationship with Carlisle? I knew if I asked him that he'd tell me that his love was real and not the result of any power, but I assumed that the power would make him believe that, so it didn't much matter.

I didn't think that I could hold onto my composure much longer, so I pulled on the only excuse I had in a roomful of vampires - sleep - and excused myself to my bedroom. When I got there, I laid on the bed and sobbed as quietly as I could.

CPOV

When Bella excused herself from the room to go to sleep, I knew something was wrong. The despair in her heart showed through her eyes, and I wondered what could have caused it. My angel should never look so unhappy.

I stood, much like my wife had only a few moments before. "I will see you all in the morning," I said softly as I left the room, knowing that they would hear.

As I neared our bedroom door, I could hear Bella's ragged breathing and the heavy sobs that were falling from her eyes. _Oh, my lovely wife, why do you cry so?_

Using my vampiric stealth, I slipped into the room unnoticed, and laid down in the bed beside the love of my existence. My weight was enough to upset the balance of the mattress, and shifted her body toward mine. I wrapped my arms around her, taking care to brush back her hair with one hand.

"Bella, sweetheart, I'm here. Talk to me. Tell me what's wrong," I whispered.

She curled into me, burying her face in my chest, hiccuping softly.

"I love you, Bella. No matter what's wrong, you can talk to me about it. Please, sweetheart. Please talk to me."

She tilted her head to look up at me, her eyes red and swollen from the tears she had already cried, the soft skin of her face streaked with wet, salty lines. I could see uncertainty and fear etched in the lines of her forehead.

"Do you really love me, Carlisle? Or have I forced you to think that you do?" Her words were barely a whisper, but they were loud enough to shatter my heart. How could she doubt my feelings for her?

"Isabella Marie Cullen, have I given you any cause to doubt my love for you? You are the love of my existence, the light of my life... Soon you will be the mother of my child. You are everything to me, sweetheart. Please believe that!"

"No, Carlisle, you've given me no reason to doubt you. You've been wonderful. I'm just afraid that you are that way because this power I have has forced you, and not of your own free will. I don't want to create your feelings, Carlisle. If you were to love me, I wanted it to be by your own choice, not mine."

Her eyes once again overflowed with tears. I had to make her understand.

"Bella, my love, please listen. I think that you are under a misapprehension. First, you must know that at this moment, we are only suspicious of the presence of such a power, not certain of it. It is only our own speculation, and could just as easily be wrong. Second, and more important, like I said before, your body may have called to me somehow, but I didn't feel that until I chose to feel it! If your power was undeniable, how can you explain the years that we knew each other before I felt this way for you?"

"I can't, I guess. But maybe it only works when I want it to. That's why it didn't affect you until I wanted it to."

"I don't believe that for a moment, Isabella. As by your own admission, you wanted me from the day in the hospital after Edward saved you from the van. I was not then affected. And even if we discount that experience, there is still all the time that passed in Hanover before I finally gave into my own feelings. If you power was strong enough to force me to love you, certainly I wouldn't have been able to fight it as long as I did."

I could see that I was getting through to her. Hope was showing in her expression. It still broke my heart. She shouldn't have to hope that my love was true.

"Bella, if you had a power that could force me to bend to your desire, then surely your twenty-first birthday would have been your last night of virginity, don't you think?" I teased, drawing a smile and a blush of embarrassment. Knowing that she was listening, I became serious once again. "I _chose_ to love you, to desire you, Bella. Once I made that choice, your power may have pulled me in. To me, it's not a forceful power. It's more of an addiction. You, Bella, you are like an addiction - once I had you, I had to have more and more. I can't be satisfied. There's never enough..."

She laughed. It was a genuinely happy sound. I sighed, a smile coming over my face at the beautiful sound.

"What is it sweetheart?" I asked.

"So you're saying I'm like a drug to you?" She asked.

"Most definitely," I replied. She laughed again, a softly lilting giggle that melted my icy heart. "Why is that so funny?"

"Because you are not the first vampire to tell me that. It seems that I'm not only vampire viagra, but also vampire heroine. I'm like a one-girl pharmacy over here!"

I grinned. "So you understand, then? You no longer doubt me?" I asked, needing to be certain.

"Yes, honey, I understand. And thank you for helping me. We only have one problem now."

"And what's that, my love?" I asked, concerned.

"You've not been satisfied. I think that it's extremely important that I rectify that problem, immediately."

_Really, who was I to argue?_

**********

From her position, still lying in my arms, she reached up with one hand, pushing against my shoulder. I acquiesced, rolling off of my side to lay on my back. She stood and quickly divested herself of her clothing, standing naked in all her glory before me. LIke a wild cat on the prowl, she got up onto the bed on her knees and crawled over to me, situating herself with one leg on each side of my body. The body that was already reacting to her, as it always did.

I reached up to touch her, but she pushed my hands away. "No, honey, this is about you. You have _never_ failed to satisfy me, and now I am going to return the favor," she said in a sultry voice.

"Bella, baby, you _always_ satisfy me. I only meant that I will always want you again and again. The way you make me feel is so amazing that I constantly wish for more."

"Your wish is my command, husband," she replied, her voice so husky that I could only groan in response. This woman, this luscious vixen, had no idea the effect she had on me - on both my body and my heart. I was forever wound around her finger.

My eyes rolled back in my head as she slid her warm body down over my own, letting me feel her lovely curves as they rubbed against me. Her scent washed over me, bathing me in its sweetness, calling to my body, begging me to fill her.

Her hands came to my waist, and she slipped her hands under the hem of my polo shirt, pushing it up my chest, exposing my skin to her, centimeter by centimeter, her lips and tongue following the fabric in its journey. I raised my hands over my head, making it easier for her to remove the cloth from my body. Once it was off, I tried once again to touch her, but, like last time, she brushed my hands away.

Her lips came down over my naked torso, teasing me with light kisses, nibbles, and licks. Her tongue swirled around my nipples, and they hardened under her ministrations. My back arched toward my lover, desperate for more of her touch.

"Bella...Bella...please..." I begged. Her teasing was unhinging me. I wanted, no, _needed_ more.

"What do you want, Carlisle?" she asked in a sultry voice.

"I want you, baby, only you...always you."

She moaned in response, bringing her lips to meet mine in a passionate kiss. As she kissed me, her hands traveled back down my body, finding their way to the belt that held my pants, deftly unbuckling it as well as the button and zipper of the pants themselves. She took her lips away, drawing a whimper from me at the loss, and sat up, pulling my pants and boxer briefs down my legs and tossing them onto the floor.

I felt a sudden surge of lust flood over me, and while I knew that I was most certainly feeling great amounts of desire, I knew that it wasn't my own this time. I knew that Jasper had most likely been overwhelmed by what we were projecting onto him, and had lost control of his gift. And as strong as that burst was, I could only hope that the other couples were at least together in their own rooms, if not out of the house altogether.

Not particularly wanting to find out, I refocused my attention on my wife, who was now slowly crawling back up the bed like a lioness on the prowl. I felt my cock surge at the image she laid before me - the gleaming desire in her eyes, her full, beautiful breasts swaying as she moved over me, her hair already a tousled mess.

She stopped moving when her breasts had reached a position just out of the reach of my mouth, and leaned down, her face down beside mine, her tongue laving my earlobe. "Tonight, honey, you're mine," she whispered, her voice thick with lust.

_Where did this Bella come from?_ Never before had I seen her so dominant, so feral. It was unbelievably arousing.

"That's where you are mistaken, my love. I'm yours _every _night."

"As I am yours," she whispered, leaving my ear and licking her way back down my neck and over my chest and abdomen, finally reaching the deep v of my hips. I groaned as her tongue entered that crease, knowing where it would lead her and anticipating the warmth of her touch and her mouth where I needed it so badly.

She did not disappoint. She followed that v down to it's point, where she abandoned it's path back up to the opposite hip in favor of licking her way up from the base to the head of my throbbing cock. I moaned her name as her tongue circled my tip, and gasped as her mouth descended, taking my entire length into her mouth.

"Oh god, Bella... baby... oooooohhhhhh..."

She moaned around my cock, sending vibrations through it that nearly doubled the pleasure I already felt. She worked me over with her mouth, sometimes teasing me with her tongue, others simply sucking it hard as her head bobbed up and down my length. She nipped gently with her teeth, making me growl with pleasure. The woman was certainly talented with her mouth.

"Baby....so good....never stop, baby....uuuuggghhh...."

Just as I felt that I could stand no more, she reached down with one hand, grasping my balls and massaging them. Her other hand was lightly gliding over my torso, teasing me with her light touch. I began to moan and grunt, trying hard to hold onto my control, my hands fisted tightly in our bed sheets.

She lifted her mouth off of me and looked up at me with her sexy, heavily-lidded eyes. "Let go for me, honey. Show me just how good I make you feel."

She dropped her mouth back down around my arousal, sucking me into her until the tip of my cock brushed the back of her throat. She gave my balls one last tug just as her other hand pinched my right nipple, and it threw me over the edge. I came hard, spilling into her throat as I yelled out her name in ecstasy.

She didn't stop, though - she slowed her pace as I rode out the pleasure, but her mouth never left me, sucking my softening member gently until it hardened for her once again.

"Baby, I need to be in you...Please, Bella...I need to feel your heat wrapped around me...." I was begging, but it didn't matter. As much as I loved her mouth on me, I was desperate to plunge my cock into her tight, wet sex.

"Your wish, honey," she replied, letting me slip out of her mouth before she climbed up over my body until she was straddling my hips. She sat there, letting her arousal drip onto my cock as she slowly ground her hips into me. "Is _this_ what you wanted, honey?" She asked innocently, her tone contrasting so sharply with her behavior that it nearly threw me over the edge once more.

"God yes, Bella! Please!"

She raised her hips a little, reaching down between her legs to grasp my engorged cock in her tiny fist, lining it up with her slit, and then sank down upon me. We both moaned deeply at the feeling of being connected again.

I reached my hands up yet again, and this time she allowed me. I cupped her breasts in my hands, reveling in their new, fuller shape - the fullness attesting to the fact that she was carrying my child. I massaged those beautiful breasts, rolling her taut nipples between my thumb and forefinger, as she rode me, plunging herself over and over again down the length of my cock. She looked beautiful this way, with her hair falling wildly over her shoulders and her head thrown back in rapture.

"Oh Carlisle.... oh yes... mmmmmm...feels so good...." The broken phrases fell from her lips, barely more than whispers.

"Yes, my love... don't stop baby... Oh god, Bella..." I spoke to her, trying to convey how she made me feel, but there weren't words to express it. The venom in my body was reaching a boiling point, I was so close to the release that was coming on strong.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. At vampire speed, I pulled myself up to a sitting position, keeping her straddled above me so that she could continue her work. I left her breasts, instead wrapping my arms around her and holding her flush against my chest. I could feel her heart beating - it was wildly fast - against me.

"I love you, Isabella Cullen... Always..."

"Oh Carlisle...Never stop loving you..."

I brought my lips to hers, immediately deepening the kiss. Suddenly, the emotional and physical euphoria overpowered my will, and I fell over the edge, cumming hard into her as I cried out.

"Bella! My god, Bella!"

"Ooooohhhhhh, Carlisle!" she screamed as her orgasm overtook her only seconds after my own.

We held each other close, neither of us willing to break our connection, as we kissed with tender sensuality.

Then she pulled back from me, and looked me deeply in the eyes. "Are you satisfied, husband?" she asked with a smile.

"Of course, my love. Deeply so." I pressed her head against my chest, reclining back against the headboard. "Rest now, sweetheart. I'm sure I'll be ready for another fix later," I teased.

I held her close as her breathing and heart rate slowed and became steady, falling asleep in my arms while we were still intimately joined. I breathed a contented sigh - my wife was reassured and confidant of my love, both of us had most certainly experienced great pleasure this evening, as, I was misfortunate enough to have heard, had the rest of our family members. I was relieved to have some bit of understanding about what was happening with her, even if it was only a small bit. It was so difficult to not know what to expect, to not have a way to prepare for the future. But as long as this perfect creature was in my arms, I knew that we would be alright.

**A/N: I hope that that was satisfying for you, my readers. Please leave me a little love! I'll get previews out asap.**


	26. 25 Propoganda

**A/N: Thanks to every single person who has ever reviewed this story. We have officially passed the 1000 review mark, and I am beyond thrilled! I truly cannot thank you enough. In my vast gratitude, however, I humbly offer you another quick update that I hope you'll enjoy.**

**This chapter brings us back to Caius's POV, as his nefarious plot is becoming closer to fruition. I hope you've packed your bags, as you are about to go with Caius on a massive ego trip.**

**Stephenie Meyer, as per usual, still is the owner of all things Twilight. **

Chapter 25: Propoganda

Caius POV

I sat in my study very early in the morning, preparing for a meeting with my loyal servants. The moonlight meeting, a weekly event, was meant to rally the troops for our cause, to excite and encourage them to work hard in their training.

I sighed contentedly. Things were going well. My army was amassed, full of relatively unknown vampires, including several jewels that would certainly spark Aro's envy. Though not all of my recruits were gifted, surely those that were would be enough to give me a distinct advantage when it came time to fight. I was working with a staff of thirteen in addition to myself.

Convincing them to join with me had been easy - Chelsea's assistance was barely needed. It had been a simple matter of making them aware of their choices, and then letting them decide what sort of existence they wanted for eternity. I revisited in my mind my first meeting with Akiko and Tamotsu of the Japanese coven.

_Demitri had gone to Japan for me to find the coven that resided near Tokyo. I had received the call from him at two a.m. to meet him at our base in one hour. I hurried to prepare myself to leave the castle, something that I had to do in secret so as not to draw Aro's suspicion. Under the cover of darkness, I slipped out of the walls of Volterra, making my way to through the Italian hillside to the large valley in which my servants had set up our base of operations. We were only thirty-seven miles from the gates of our city, but far enough off the beaten path that we had no reason to fear being discovered. _

_I entered the cabin that had been built on the edge of the base, and found Demitri waiting with two black-haired vampires. They each bowed their heads reverently toward me, greatly pleasing me, as I sat atop the wingback armchair that served as my throne. _

_"Hello," I said to them in their native tongue. "As you surely know, I am Caius of the Volturi. I have summoned you here for an important purpose. Our kind is in grave danger from the inside. We have a severe threat hanging over our heads at this very moment, a threat that is yet unknown publicly. I am searching for those of our kind who are willing to risk themselves for the sake of our collective existence. I will tell you now of the threat, and then you will have your choice of whether to join with me or leave here. If you chose to leave, you may do so without repercussion, and in peace and safety from me. Do you understand?"_

_They nodded their heads, and thus I continued._

_"The danger that we face is the end of the existence to which we have been fated. There is a vampire, living in the United States, named Carlisle Cullen, who choses to diverge from our natural path on this earth and preserve humanity rather than feed off of it as we should. He instead feeds on the blood of animals. This vampire, if he should still be referred to by such a term of honor, has been amassing a large coven - six members now, two of which are gifted, one of which remains human - and has plans to overthrow the Volturi in order to impose his own rule over the vampire world. Should he be successful, you will be forced to subsist on the bitter, unappealing blood of animals rather than the sweet nectar to which we are entitled. Aro himself does not oppose allowing this vampire to rule over us, thus making the probability of his successful coup even greater._

_This is the peril that faces us now, dear ones. If you, like me, prefer our current existence, our only choice is to band together to save it. If, however, you have no problem giving up your re-birth rights, then go freely, and indulge yourself on our preferred food source in the limited time during which you still can."_

_The two, without a word, approached me and kissed the back of my hand.  
_

_"We will serve you, Master Caius," they said as one. _

I had spoken to each group of recruits in the same way. Once I had given them the options, not one had hesitated, once again reaffirming to me that I was doing the right thing for my kind. I would be the savior of the vampires. I would be revered. I would be the most beloved emperor the world had ever seen.

At two o'clock, I wrapped myself securely in a long black cloak and silently fled the cold stone walls of the castle. I hated that I had to leave in this way - I am Caius of the Volturi, damn it, and I should be able to do whatever I choose, whenever I choose. But I will do this, lower myself in this way, for the sake of the future, for I will not be remembered as the vampire who stole from the castle under the cover of night like a coward, but as the vampire who risked his own existence for the sake of us all.

When I entered the cabin we had built on the base, my servants bowed their heads in loyal submission to me, as they did each time I entered here. It is a sign of their respect, their love for me. I, above anyone, have earned such treatment, and it is an unfortunate slight that I only receive it from a small group as this. No matter, though, for soon I will be emperor and all of my kind will wish not only to bow to me, but to show me the depths of their adoration.

I pass by the vampires in the room, laying my hand upon each of their heads in turn, to recognize them in both their presence and their loyalty, as I make my way to my throne. From my seat, I looked to my left, where Chelsea stands, and fought my grimace. I had come to view this vampire with great distaste, and she had many times come close to forcing my hand against her. The bitch did not know her place - she constantly tried to push her way into a position of equality with me. Had I not told her that her partnership would only exist once we were successful in our endeavor? While I knew that was not true, it was still the agreement to which she should be ahearing. Really, it was too bad that I needed her power, because otherwise I could, and would, rip her head from her shoulders and throw her into the fire right now.

To my right was a more pleasant sight - Igor. The leader of the Russian coven, he was surely the crown jewel of my collection. I had to admit, to myself at least, that _if_ I was going to have an equal, it would be this vampire. But I was to be an emperor, and emperors have no equals. No, he was my servant, and pleased to be so. Igor had been a top general in Napoleon's army during his human lifetime. In fact, he was his top strategist. Unfortunately for Napoleon, Igor went out one night on a scouting mission with several soldiers while preparing for the attack on Russia, and was attacked by a nomadic vampire. The soldiers jumped to his defense against the vampire after the first bite immobilized him. The vampire apparently felt sated after consuming the three soldiers, and left, forgetting to finish off Igor, who was left to die, or rather, to change, in the snowy field.

Igor remained alone, and rather savage, for fifty years before meeting his mate, Tatiana, who civilized him to a great extent. It was at that point that he began to discover his gift, which is the ability to make perfect strategy. Battles cannot be lost with his assistance in their planning. Having him on my side, I knew, would ensure not only our success in the endeavor, but also our success in preserving our way of life and our kind. I smiled at the vampire on my right, wondering if he knew how necessary he was to our future.

I freed myself from my contemplation, then, and looked out at the rest of my militia.

"Hello, my loyal soldiers. I have heard many pleasant reports from Felix this week regarding your training. He tells me that you are coming along nicely, and I must tell you that I am proud. You, my brave vampires, no matter your fate in this endeavor, will go down in history as the valorous individuals who risked all in order to save our race from certain destruction. You are the ones who have been chosen to fight against the leaders who long for our demise, our dishonor, and our subjugation to man.

Are we not better than the humans? Have we not been made to sit above them, upon the top of the food chain? Are not our intelligence, our appearance, our physical capacities far superior to those of the men upon which we feed?

So why, then, would we allow them to rule us, when it is we who should rule them?

Why, then, would we allow our own leaders to force us into a submissive position? Why would we allow them to turn us into animals which must be led around on a leash or locked in a cage?

We are better than this, my lionhearted ones! And our willingness to stand up and fight for what is ours makes us better still!

So I ask you this now: Train hard, perfect your gifts and skills, for our time is nearing. Prepare yourselves in whatever way you need for the battle which lies ahead. Keep yourselves well fed, mentally prepared, and ready at all times, for you know not when you will get the call from me to draw up your arms and fight for what is ours. For what _must_ remain ours!

You, my courageous servants, are our only hope."

My speech finished, I stood from my throne amidst the cheering of my followers, and left the cabin that I saw as my refuge, returning once again to the castle whose walls still held me prisoner.

Later that evening, I was sitting with my brothers, the zombie and the imbecile, in the throne room, preparing for a visit from Liam of the Irish coven. He was a businessman, widely traveled, and, though he didn't know it, he had been the source of several valuable bits of information in the past, including the discovery of Jack and Lachlan.

Ah, Jack... Another of my treasures. Had it not been for Liam, neither I, nor any other vampire, may have ever discovered his existence. He, much like Igor, was truly a prize to have in my service. Jack, an Australian, had been changed nearly two hundred years ago during a visit to North America by a vampire named Benito. Initially, according to Jack, Benito had intended him to be a meal. Jack, however, had a sharp instinct for knowing when he was in danger and escaping from it. He ran from Benito, and succeeded in surviving through four days of chase. However, in the end, he was merely a human, and Benito caught him. Know expecting him to have great worth as a vampire, he changed him and made him a right hand in his newborn army.

Much as Benito had suspected, Jack did have a heightened defensive ability as a vampire, and it served them both well for over a century. However, Benito's dealings in the south became too notorious and too obvious for us to ignore. It was decided by myself and my brothers that he must be immediately destroyed, as well as his army. Jack felt the danger approaching, and betrayed his sire by not informing him of it, instead telling him that he was going for a hunt. Jack disappeared, running to the coast of Mexico and diving into the Pacific, and swam all the way back to his homeland. Benito, on the other hand, was destroyed by the Volturi guard.

Lachlan was the friend he had created for himself five decades later, in an effort to eliminate his boredom. While he had no power to speak of, Lachlan was a fiercely loyal friend, and could be counted on to serve me as long as Jack himself did.

The night that Liam told me of Jack's existence was three and a half decades ago. He had not known, nor intended, to give me such valuable information. Nor did he ever know. He was simply passing a story of his travels, and I was the one to benefit from the entertainment. Would tonight be the same? I could only hope.

And so I sat, waiting and hoping, and trying my best to ignore the idiotic grins of Aro, who sat beside me, giddy at the idea of a visitor. It was all I could do to stand being in the same room with him. He did not deserve to sit in this throne, or any other throne for that matter. He was too asinine, too willing to ruin us all for the sake of his own amusement. My only consolation was knowing that his end was soon to come. And my beginning as well...

Dante entered the throne room then, to announce Liam's arrival. We welcomed him into the room and he bowed his head to each of us in turn. I gritted my teeth as I saw him offer this respect to Aro - the imbecile deserved the respect of no one! I soothed myself with the knowledge that he would soon be ash and the reverence would all be mine.

After the basic pleasantries had been thoroughly attended to, Liam began to regale us with tales of his travels over the past decade since we had last seen him. Many of his stories were completely worthless, and had I had the ability to sleep, they surely would have induced such a condition in me. Finally, though, he came to a tale that caught my interest, if for no other reason that to acquire more intelligence for my mission. Liam, it seemed, had been a guest at the wedding of Carlisle Cullen to his human.

**A/N: What did you think? I will tell you this much, Liam has, though he does not know it, information that will change the course of everything you thought might happen in this story. It will be completely unexpected, and it will be the news that sets everything into motion between the Volturi and the Cullens. What might it be??????**

**I have to ask you a favor, which is to go to the blog (link is in my profile) and reply to my question about the Bucket List. I would greatly appreciate your input on this one!**

**Now, please leave me a little commentary/review on this chapter. I'll love you for it, I promise.**


	27. 26 Pregnancy Progress

**A/N: Thanks to all who read and reviewed last chapter. It seems that Caius's POV didn't excite you much, so now I'm on a mission to get my reviewers back. I hope that this chapter will be the beginning of that trend! **

**Congrats to Merina Green, who was the only reviewer who noticed a very important clue about Caius and his plans in the last chapter, by the way! Good reading, girl!**

**There are two big surprises coming up soon, one of which takes place at the end of this chapter, the other is coming soon. Hope they will catch you off guard and excite you!**

**Stephenie Meyer is still owner and creator of all things Twilight. I really think that's been well established by now, but I repeat it just in case. **

**And now, happy reading!**

Chapter 26: Pregnancy Progress

CPOV

Two weeks had passed since we returned to Hanover. Things were going very well. I had a better understanding of Bella's pregnancy now, though there was still much that I did not know. She continued to have cravings for her own blood, so we, as a family, had taken to hunting for her each morning so that she could have a thermos of fresh blood at lunch time. I was so proud of her - she had refused my initial suggestion of bringing home donated blood from the hospital for her, saying that she did not want to drink human blood, nor did she want that for our child. I was so amazed (and quite honestly, extremely aroused) each time I saw her drink, never once showing any reaction other than satisfaction and pleasure. Life in our home seemed to be much less productive than usual, however, in the afternoons, with the combination of Bella's pheromones and our combined lust after her feedings being too much for Jasper and the others to handle...

Blood wasn't the only thing she craved, however. There was obviously a human aspect to our child, because she craved certain human foods just as much as the blood, which was certainly a cause for comfort. Unfortunately, her cravings were not the most healthy, but no matter how much I tried to promote more nutritious options, Bella usually got whatever she asked for. Yesterday it had been Ben & Jerry's Half Baked ice cream and Fruit Loops (not at the same sitting). I smiled and let out a contented sigh. I had been getting plenty of ribbing from the other men in my house for my inability to deny Bella these past weeks, but I knew that any of them would be acting the same way if placed in a similar situation as I now was. Not to mention I had seen Emmett come home three days ago with a large bulge under his jacket, which I later discovered was a container of oreo cookies and a gallon of milk. No, there was no doubt that Bella had all of us wrapped around her little finger.

My favorite part, however, of her pregnancy thus far, was the now noticeable rounding of her abdomen. Each time I caught sight of that bulge, my long dead heart seemed to beat once again. Each night, while Bella slept, I rested my hand over her belly and held my wife and our baby, feeling more content than I could ever remember feeling in my entire existence. I was anxiously awaiting the moment, which, by my calculations, was likely only a week away, when I could feel the first movements of our child.

I knew that, had we never lost Edward and Esme, this moment, this miracle, would not be happening for us. At the same time, though, a part of me was wishing that they were somehow here to share in it. I couldn't help but think how much Esme's eyes would light with joy and her heart soar at the idea of a baby in our house. I could hardly think of anything that would have pleased her more. And Edward, who had spoken to me in the past of his guilt over Bella's loss of the opportunity to become a mother due to her association with us. He would be so thrilled that she got her chance after all. Perhaps Bella and I could find a way of naming the baby that would pay tribute to them... I'd have to discuss that with her at some point.

As I laid beside her, listening to the sweet words she spoke in her sleep, I began to contemplate the excitement that the day would bring to us. I had sent Eleazar to the medical supply store earlier, while Bella was eating her dinner, to pick up some items that I expected to need for the duration of the pregnancy. Among those items were a fetal doppler, which would allow Bella to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time, as well as an ultrasound machine, so that we could finally see the little one growing inside of her. I had mixed feelings about the ultrasound - though Bella had me mostly convinced that this baby would not be some sort of viscous hell-monster, I knew that it was still a risk. Actually getting a visual of the child could either re-ignite my panic, or, perhaps, calm our fears. I could only hope and pray for the latter.

Eventually, the first rays of light began to stream through our bedroom window. I could hear the sounds of my family around the house - Carmen and Eleazar entering the back door as they returned from a night's hunt, Alice and Jasper in the living room, from the sounds of things preparing for their classes, and Rosalie and Emmett's shower was running. It was odd for me, sometimes, to be so removed from the overnight activities of the family so that I could stay with Bella as she slept. It wasn't anything I regretted, though, by any means. Truthfully, I enjoyed taking this time-out, as it were, with her. It gave me time to think, to ponder, to simply gaze at the beautiful angel who was my wife.

On this particular morning, my thoughts turned to contemplating Bella's transformation into a vampire. It seemed to be a more complicated matter now, with the baby coming. As I had no idea what the birth might be like, it was certainly possible that I would have no choice but to change her as soon as the baby came out. On the other hand, though, there was also the possibility that the delivery would be easy on Bella, and then we would have to make the decision to change her. But would it be safe to have a newborn Bella at the same time as our newborn vampire-human hybrid child? It was definitely a concern for me. True, I didn't know much yet about _what_ our child was, but I did know that it had a heart beat, which implied that it also had blood flowing through its body. How could we possibly have Bella near the child as a newborn? How could I possibly deny her closeness to our child?

The thoughts continued in much the same manner for a brief period of time until a sudden wave of serenity washed over me. I whispered my thanks to Jasper, and his voice came softly through the door in reply.

"Don't worry so much, Carlisle. The future will sort itself out."

I smiled - Jasper knew me so well, that even without the ability to hear my thoughts, he still knew what they contained.

"I'll do my best," I whispered back.

As I heard his footsteps lead him away from my door, I caught a glimpse of the clock. It was after eight o'clock, thus an acceptable hour for me to wake my angel - I could barely stand to wait another moment to see those deep chocolate eyes and taste her sweet lips. I took my time, though, peppering her naked shoulder and collarbone with gentle kisses before working my way into the crook of her neck, upon which I laid long, languorous licks, tasting the salty sweetness of her flesh. By the time I found her lips with my own, she had awakened and was returning my kisses wholeheartedly. Her soft moans at my ministrations had changed my plans a bit. I had initially intended to simply wake her with kisses, but now I found my hardened length pressed against the soft, warm skin of her thigh, betraying my desire.

"Good morning, wife," I whispered as my tongue found its way to her ear.

"Yes, it certainly is," she replied, her voice raspy with the combination of the early hour and desire.

"Are you feeling alright this morning, sweetheart?" I asked, determined that her well-being and that of our child had to take precedence over my own lust.

"I am," she replied. "But I know how you can make me feel even better, Dr. Cullen..." _Oh god, Bella... I love it when you call me Dr. Cullen!_

"Oh, Bella, I do believe that I know of a treatment that will do just that."

With that, I rolled myself over, reveling in the sound of her giggles as she found that I was hovering above her. It was only seconds later that a good morning became a better one.

The day passed rather slowly after that. I was anxious for the evening to arrive so that we could use the new equipment and finally see our child, but I didn't want to spoil the surprise for my wife. Bella and I finally left out bed sometime after ten, showered, dressed, and went downstairs to find breakfast for Bella. I was fortunate enough to convince her to eat something healthy for this meal, making her an omelette, toast, and a fruit salad. Since Carmen and Elly had gone into town to get groceries and the others were at the university, we had the next few hours to ourselves.

"Sweetheart?" I asked from across the table as she was finishing her food. "Would you like to go out to the clearing by the river when you're done there?"

Her eyes lit up in delight. "Oh! Yes, Carlisle! I'd love that!"

Pleased that I had found a way to make her so happy, I used vampire speed to clean up the kitchen and gather the necessary supplies for our afternoon. It had been a mild fall in New England this year, but I knew that there was still plenty of chill in the air, so I asked Bella to please put on warmer clothes. She went back to our bedroom to dress, and returned in a pair of boot cut jeans that I immediately recognized as my own, though they were now cut at the bottom to accommodate her shorter stature, and a blood red hooded fleece jacket over a thermal knit long-sleeved shirt.

I raised my eyebrows at her. "Nice pants," I commented in a teasing tone.

"None of mine fit!" she whined in a voice an octave higher than she usually spoke.

I grinned and ran over to her, dropping to my knees in front of her. I immediately pushed her shirt and jacket up and out of my way, and rubbed my hands over her belly, pressing kisses over her navel.

"That's because our baby needed more room to grow, my love," I said, looking up at her adoringly. I loved this woman so much already, and now, knowing that she was carrying my child and making real my loftiest dream, even the simplest things like the increase in her pants size were enough to send me to the moon with joy.

She smiled down at me, and cupped my cheek in her tiny hand. "I love seeing you so happy, Carlisle."

"It is you who has made me so, my love," I replied, jumping back to my feet and pressing a lingering kiss against her forehead. "And so I will be, as long as you are with me."

"Until the sun grows cold, honey."

Smiling at her words, I swept her up into my arms and, after taking a moment to sling the bag of supplies over my shoulder, ran out through the back door and off into the woods.

Not much later, we were sitting on a blanket in the clearing by the river, in the same place where I had once asked her to be my wife. We sat quietly for some time, gazing out at the beauty of nature surrounding us, both absorbed in our own meditations. This time, rather than imagine what sort of monster we might have created, I was caught up in thoughts of a beautiful baby girl, one with Bella's deep chocolate eyes and full lips.

"Honey?" Bella's voice broke through my mental wanderings.

"Yes Bella?"

"What color were your eyes when you were human?"

The question took me by surprise - we had been having such similar thoughts.

"Blue," I replied. "I remember my mother saying that they were the color of the London blue topaz stone that hung around her neck in a pendant given to her by her father."

"I hope the baby has eyes like yours," she said, looking deep into my now golden eyes.

"Not I," I said. "I was just dreaming of a lovely little girl with your chocolate eyes."

"Maybe we'll have a boy," she countered.

I couldn't stop my heart, as well as my pride, from swelling just a bit. A son. My own son... Truly, I would be thrilled with either gender. The simple idea of the two of us creating a life together was more than a dream come true. I knew that, whatever sex our child, it was most certainly a gift to us from God.

"Perhaps we will," I finally replied. "Though I hope for your eyes in whatever child we might have, so that I might be able to see them for eternity after your own eyes are long since turned golden."

She leaned back into me and tilted her head up to kiss me. "You are so romantic, Carlisle," she whispered seconds before her lips met mine.

We stayed that way for awhile, just musing about our hopes for our child, and kissing in between, until Bella suddenly sat bolt upright. "Do you smell that, honey?"

I sniffed the air. "Smell what, sweetheart?" I asked, not noticing any particular smell that had changed or that was close or strong enough for her to have noticed.

"Mmmmm...Carlisle, will you get that for me?" she nearly moaned.

I inhaled deeply. The only smell I could pick out that was new to the area was that of a moose, but it was at least a hundred yards off. Surely that wasn't what she meant.

"Sweetheart, what are you smelling?"

"She took a deep breath, then moaned again. "I don't know what it is. It smells like fresh cut grass, cucumbers, and maple syrup all mixed together. It's delicious, Carlisle, and I want it."

I was shocked, to say the least. My Bella was asking me to bring her a moose. To drink.

"Alright, my love," I replied, glad that I had brought her thermos with me just in case. I pulled it out of the bag, quickly drinking down the deer blood it now held, and then stealthily made my way off into the trees in search of the moose. I found it quickly, taking a drink from a small stream that ran through the woods, and snuck up behind it. I tensed myself for the attack, and then launched myself out of a crouch and onto his back. Using my teeth to cut through his flesh and his jugular vein, I then pulled back to allow the blood to flow freely from the animal's neck and into the thermos. Once I had filled it, I latched back onto the vein and drained the animal, relishing in it's sweet taste.

Sated, I buried the carcass under some brush where a larger predator might still find and make use of it, then made my way back to my wife. I found her sitting on the blanket, her mouth watering as I approached. I handed her the thermos and watched as she brought it immediately to her lips, pulling the liquid ambrosia from it in deep swallows punctuated by moans of pleasure.

By the time she had finished, my cock was standing at full attention, and throbbing mercilessly. My god, there was nothing that affected my base, animalistic nature as much as watching her consume blood. It was utterly erotic and tantalizing to witness, and I was fairly certain that she knew that.

I growled at her as she pulled the thermos back from her lips, one last droplet of blood cascading down her chin as she did. I lunged at her, pressing her carefully to the ground before opening my mouth and letting my tongue glide up her neck, catching the single drop of blood as I reached the tip of her chin and pulling it into my own mouth, savoring the way it's taste mixed with Bella's. I groaned throatily.

"I have to have you, baby, right now," I uttered, my voice thick with lust.

She moaned. "Oh Carlisle, take me!"

I made quick work of removing her pants, as well as my own, leaving her top on so that she wouldn't freeze to death as I took her here in the woods. I flipped her over so that she was on her hands and knees, and thrust myself into her. We were like animals there in the clearing. There was none of the usual tenderness and gentility to our coupling. Instead, I took her hard and fast, just as she was begging me to do. When we finished, she screamed out my name in ecstasy as I roared hers into the empty forest surrounding us, and then we both collapsed back onto the blanket. I pulled a second one out of the bag, covering her with it.

"Are you alright, my love?" I asked her, suddenly overcome with concern for her well being now that the haze of need had passed.

"Oh, honey, I am sooooo much better than alright..." She said, her voice still slightly raspy, but obviously contented.

I smiled into her hair, and let myself relax next to her as her breathing settled into a steady pattern. I waited until she was fully asleep, then I stood, packed all of our supplies back into the bag, and lifted her, keeping her wrapped snugly in the blankets, and ran us back to the house. Once we were there, I settled her into our bed where I knew she would be comfortable as she napped, and made my way back into the living room to do some reading.

I had, in addition to the other supplies, asked Eleazar to purchase a few obstetrics texts for me. It was a specialty of medicine that I was aware of, but by no means expert in, having never had any desire to practice it. Having always thought that I could not have children, I had expected it would be too difficult to deliver children for others every day. On top of that, I was of the opinion that any good doctor could be an obstetrician (not to belittle the specialty, by any means), but with my special vampire skills, I would be of much more use elsewhere. Thus, now being in the position wherein it was necessary for me to deliver my own child, I thought it would be best for me to study up on human obstetrics, for at least it would provide me with a basic practical knowledge from which to begin.

I spent the next two hours reading and preparing a room which we could use for medical purposes while I waited for Bella to awaken and the others to return home. Only once during that time did Bella call, and when I went to check on her, she asked me to please call Carmen and ask her to bring home a fish sandwich and an apple pie. I shook my head at her request, but made the call anyways.

Finally, everyone was home and sitting in the living room. Bella had eaten her fill of dinner and was now enjoying her pie, which, from the sounds she was making, must have tasted much better than it smelled.

"So," I said, capturing the attention of the room, "I have a surprise for everyone tonight."

Several eyes lit up and wide smiles filled the room.

Alice looked a mixture of irritated, surprised and excited - her blindness concerning the baby was obviously getting to her, but not so much that she wasn't giddy with excitement over the impending arrival. "What is it? What is it?" she demanded.

"I made an order for some obstetric supplies, which Eleazar was kind enough to pick up for us. Tonight, I am going to use the fetal doppler to allow Bella to hear the baby's heart beat, as well as perform our first ultrasound. I wanted us all to share this together."

The room was filled with excited shouts and squeals, hands clapping and gasps, as each of the seven others present in the room reacted to my news. I could tell none were disappointed, especially not my Bella, who looked as though she might actually explode with excitement.

"Alright, alright, I can see that you are all pleased with my surprise, so why don't we all go into the extra guest suite now - I've made it into a sort of medical office for our purposes."

I scooped my wife up in my arms and we led the way to the medical room with the others following close behind us.

"Thank you so much for this, Carlisle," she whispered. "I'm so excited!"

I kissed her gently as I laid her on the table. "No more excited than I am myself, I assure you. I have been barely containing myself all day!"

As I prepared the ultrasonic gel and the doppler for use, and Alice helped Bella arrange her clothes to ease my access to her belly, the rest of the family settled themselves around the room. When I had everything ready, I turned to face Bella.

"Are you ready, sweetheart?"

"More than," she replied.

"Okay then." I paused for a moment, and looked out at our family. "We're going to listen to the heart first, before I do the ultrasound. All of us have the benefit of vampire hearing, which has allowed us to hear the heart beating for a couple of weeks already. I thought it only fair to let Bella hear it for herself now, so that we all begin the ultrasound on equal footing."

"That's fair," Jasper agreed. Everyone else nodded in assent as well.

I placed the spherical end of the wand on Bella's slightly rounded belly, and pressed down, searching for the sound. It took a moment, and several times moving the wand to a different location before we finally caught the clear sound of a tiny heart pumping. Bella looked up at me with wide eyes, wonder filling her expression.

"Is that it, Carlisle? Is that what you hear?"

I was too surprised to answer right away. I continued to hold the wand in place, letting the sound fill the room, as I looked first at Eleazar and Carmen, and then to Jasper, confused. They returned the same expression to me, and Elly shook his head.

"No, Bella. It's not," Eleazar answered for me.

**A/N: Yep, mean old Tara is leaving you with yet another cliffie. I'm evil, what can I say? Actually, I'm just trying to lure you back in and get you excited again. Did it work? Let me know!!! Previews will be your reward!**


	28. 27 The Ultrasound

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews on the last chapter! It's so good to hear from all of you again! I've missed you, you know! Here's hoping for a similar result to this one! **

**Stephenie Meyer owns it, you know that.**

Chapter 27: The Ultrasound

BPOV

I laid on the table in the makeshift medical office Carlisle had set up in the guest room as the rest of the family filed in and found a place to sit. Alice stood next to me, helping me to push my shirt up far enough that it would be out of Carlisle's way while he performed the tests.

"You do realize that these clothes aren't going to cut it, right?" Alice said with a grin.

"I figured you wouldn't let me get away with it, but my own pants are just too tight already!" I explained, simply accepting the fact that Alice was going to go on a maternity shopping spree tonight rather than let me be comfy in Carlisle's clothes for another day.

"That's alright, Bella," she replied, a glimmer in her eye. "I will take good care of you." I had no doubt she would. And then some.

Carlisle came over at that moment, looking down at me with love and excitement showing in his eyes. I knew that, even though he could hear the baby's heartbeat all the time, this moment was no less exciting for him than it was for me. And I loved him just a little more because of it.

"Are you ready, sweetheart?" He asked.

"More than."

"Okay then," he said, pausing for a moment and looking out at our family. "We're going to listen to the heart first, before I do the ultrasound. All of us have the benefit of vampire hearing, which has allowed us to hear the heart beating for a couple of weeks already. I thought it only fair to let Bella hear it for herself now, so that we all begin the ultrasound on equal footing."

"That's fair," Jasper agreed. Everyone else nodded in assent as well.

Turning his attention back to me, Carlisle squeezed a tube of cold gel over my belly and then placed the wand in it, moving it all around. It took a moment, and several times moving the wand to a different location before we finally heard a sound that resembled hoofbeats. As the sound filled my ears, I was overcome with excitement and wonder. _Was that it? Was that our baby?_

"Is that it, Carlisle? Is that what you hear?"

He didn't answer right away, and I was shocked to see the furrowed lines of confusion marring his beautiful brow. He cocked his head a bit to the side and was quiet for another minute, then looked up at Eleazar, asking him a silent question.

"No, Bella," Eleazar answered. "It's not."

I looked up at Carlisle, not understanding. _Was something wrong? What was that sound if it wasn't our baby? Was the baby alright? Why was my husband so confused?_

"Carlisle? I don't understand. What do you mean that's not what you hear?" I asked.

"Sweetheart, all the vampires in this room can hear two heartbeats - one is yours, one is the baby's. Your heart, as I hear it, beats an average of ninety times each minute. Slightly higher right now, since you are quite obviously stressed. The second heart we hear, that of the baby, is much faster. A human baby tends to beat in the range of one hundred and thirty times per minute, but what we hear is a bit more rapid - one hundred and fifty beats per minute, on average. Do you understand all of that?"

I nodded. "And that's not what you're hearing with the doppler?"

"You hear the heartbeat with us now, through the doppler. Count the beats until I tell you to stop."

I did as he asked, counting each beat silently.

"That's enough. What was your count, my love?"

"Thirteen."

"That's right. We counted for ten seconds. Now we multiply that by six, and we'll have the number of beats per minute, which is seventy-eight."

"But that doesn't make sense. That's much slower than you said you are hearing," I replied, now extremely confused.

"I know. And I'm just as perplexed as you are, Bella. But I have the ultrasound machine here, and we're going to take a look right now. I have a suspicion, but I don't want to speculate, I want to know."

As I waited for him to prepare the ultrasound machine, I looked over at Rose, who was obviously just as mystified as the rest of us. My gaze caught her attention, and she stood and walked over to me, taking my hand and giving it a light squeeze.

"Don't worry, Bella. Everything is alright. We'll have this all figured out in just a minute," she said reassuringly. It might have been reassuring if it had come from someone else, but Rosalie has never been much of an optimist, so it kind of threw me for a loop.

I laid there, pondering everything that I knew so far, when suddenly something occurred to me.

"Rose?" I whispered, even though I knew everyone in the room would still hear. "Seventy-eight is about half of one hundred and fifty."

Every vampire in the room suddenly fell silent, ending their private conversations and turning to me. Several mouths were gaping, and Carlisle's eyes were wider than I could ever remember seeing them before. When my own eyes locked with his, I saw in them a mixture of disbelief, amazement, love, and what I was sure was hope. It nearly melted my heart to see this beautiful man, who had once been positive that he would never see his dream of having a child come true, now so utterly enraptured with his baby, now growing inside me. Or could it be his babies?

"Is it possible?" he whispered, as if afraid that saying the words out loud would make them less true.

I reached out to him, taking his hand with mine. "There's only one way to find one, Dr. Cullen."

The name helped to focus him once again, and he immediately wheeled the now-ready ultrasound machine closer so that it was next to the table on which I was laying. He once again squirted the cool gel on my belly, and pressed the wand against me. The room was completely silent as we all watched the screen, waiting for confirmation. Odd black and white images, none of which could be interpreted as anything, filled the screen for a moment, and then suddenly, time stopped.

There on the screen, as clear as anything I ever could have hoped for, was an amazing image. It was shaped something like a piece of pie with one bite already taken from its tip. There were two sections of closely-spaced white lines along the top and bottom of the screen, with the center being dominated by two big, dark circles. And, inside each of these two spheres of darkness was a fuzzy white silhouette of a person.

"Twins," breathed Carlisle in a low whisper. "We're having twins..."

The feelings that washed over me in that moment seemed to take me back to our first I love you, our wedding day, the first time we made love, and the moment I convinced him that I could carry our baby, all rolled into one. There was so much joy, wonder, gratefulness, and, above all, love, coursing through me that I probably could have drowned in it. Tears flowed freely from my eyes - tears of unparalleled joy. I could hardly believe that we had been so blessed, to not only have a child, but to have two! One look into Carlisle's eyes told me that he was feeling exactly the same way I was.

The ultrasound momentarily forgotten, he dropped the wand to the floor and grasped my cheeks gently between his cold hands. "I love you, Isabella! I love you, I love you, I love you!" His words were spoken in a reverent tone before they were swallowed by my lips, as I could not wait one more second to kiss him. I didn't care who was in the room or what kind of stir it might cause - this was simply a moment of unadulterated happiness, and there was nothing to do but kiss the man who gave it to me.

As we pulled away from the kiss, I felt my own happiness magnified as if it was a warm blanket laid over me. I smiled at Jasper, knowing that he was projecting for all of us to share. The gel all over my stomach momentarily forgotten, I was accosted from all sides by the family, all of them clamoring to hug Carlisle and me and offer their congratulations.

In spite of, or perhaps _because_ of, the joy we were so caught up in, my thoughts turned to the two missing pieces of our family - Esme and Edward. I couldn't help but wish that they were here to share in this moment with us. I could imagine Esme's bright eyes, shimmering with the tears that could not fall, as her heart nearly burst from the happiness she would surely feel to know that our family would be blessed with two new souls. And Edward, who had always been so much more serious and morose, would finally see the truth of this existence - that surely the vampires had not been forgotten by God, not when they were so good. I decided, in that moment, that I wanted our children to carry some part of Edward and Esme with them, just as we all did. Perhaps we could somehow name them for our lost family members? I would discuss it with Carlisle tonight.

I looked back into my husband's golden eyes, once again focusing my attention on the present. "I love you, Carlisle Cullen," I said adoringly. "But do you think we might get back to the task at hand? I didn't get a very good look at our children earlier."

He grinned as soon as the word "children" came out of my mouth. "Of course, sweetheart. I too, want to get another peak."

I laid back down on the table and he took a moment to get everything back in order. As he prepared, everyone else settled back into their original positions. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Carlisle was standing next to me, the wand once again in his hand and a grin on his face, ready to begin.

I think I heard everyone in the room draw in a sharp breath as Carlisle touched the wand to the rounded flesh of my abdomen. He moved it around for a second, and then the image re-appeared on the small screen. For a moment, we all stared at the two forms that were living inside of me. With his other hand, he reached down and took mine, squeezing it gently and giving me a warm smile. The tenderness in his eyes brought tears to mine. He loved me - no, us - so much, and I was positive that my love equalled his in intensity.

"I'm going to focus in on each of them individually, now. I need to examine their anatomy and physiology, to see how they are developing. It will help me to understand more about what they are, as well as what we might expect from the rest of the pregnancy. Alright?"

I nodded in agreement. He changed the angle at which he was holding the wand, and suddenly there was only one body filling the screen. We all took a few moments to look at it before Carlisle spoke again.

"What we're looking at here," he said, gesturing to the image as he explained, "is the baby in profile. You can see the nose here, and the lips and chin. This flashing area here? That's the heart. You are watching it beat. It's holding onto an average of about seventy beats per minute, and I assume that may slow down some after they are born and begin to mature, just as a human baby's does. I suppose the combination of human and vampire DNA makes the babies use of the heart less than that of a human's. This, right here, is an arm, and there's the little hand at the end of it."

A chuckle slipped through Carlisle's perfect lips as the baby moved its arm in a way that made it appear to be waving to us. "Hello to you, too, little one," he said, speaking to my belly in an adoring tone that made me love him even more.

Turning back to the screen, he pointed out the legs and feet as well before moving the wand around a bit so that we could get a different perspective. He used the mouse on the machine to take some measurements, none of which he bothered to write down, what with his infallible vampire memory and all, and then changed our perspective once again. This time, I could make out two little feet up near the top of the screen. I squinted a little, trying to make out the rest of the shapes in the image.

"You see the feet up here?" He asked, once again pointing to the screen. "Then these are the legs, and here is the buttocks. And this..."

"You don't have to tell us that, Big Daddy," Emmett interrupted. "I may not be a doctor, but I consider myself an expert in this area. _That_, my friends, is a girl!"

My human vision wasn't sharp enough to catch the series of events that followed Emmett's statement. All I knew was that there were several loud crashes, a roar, a few yells and screeches, and a scream that I didn't even realize came from me until after I heard it. Once the scene had calmed, I saw the aftermath. Carlisle, his jaw tight and teeth gritted together, with his hands balled up in fists at his sides, was being restrained by Eleazar and Carmen on one side of the room. Lying on the floor in the center of the room, surrounded by broken pieces of wood that I assumed were part of the love seat, was a cowering and shaking Emmett, whose face registered shock. Rosalie was next to him, looking a mixture of angry and concerned. Jasper stood in between the two groups, his arms held out to either side, obviously trying to prevent either from making any further movements. His face was screwed up with concentration, and I assumed that was because of the extreme amount of calm he was projecting into the room. Alice was crouching over me on the bed, protecting me and the babies from being accidently hurt in the commotion.

I remained still and quiet as I watched Carlisle's breathing returning to normal and his fists unclenching. The others all seemed to relax as well. When Jasper's shoulders relaxed a bit, I felt it was safe to speak.

"Carlisle? Honey? Would you like to tell me what in the hell is going on here?" I asked softly.

My husband had the decency to look down at the floor, ashamed.

"I'm sorry, my love... It was instinctual. I didn't think..."

It was obviously that he felt awful about whatever had just happened, but I didn't understand. "Carlisle? What exactly happened?" I asked, hoping for more information.

He meekly looked up at me through his lashes, then back down at the ground. "It was what Emmett said, it set me off. I flew at him before even thinking. I'm so sorry, sweetheart. You weren't hurt, were you?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Yeah, me too," Emmett added sarcastically, his voice still rather tense. "Thanks for asking."

Carlisle growled. Jasper walked over to him and placed a hand on his chest. "Calm down, Carlisle," he ordered, his voice holding much more authority than I'd ever heard him use, especially when addressing Carlisle.

I reached a hand out toward my husband. "Carlisle? Come here," I said gently. Carmen and Eleazar both released him and he walked quickly over to the table where I still laid. "Honey? Jasper's right. You need to calm down. Whatever upset you so much, I'm sure Emmett didn't mean it."

"You're right, sweetheart. I'm so sorry. I just... When Emmett... God dammit, Emmett! That's my daughter!"

I was utterly confused - obviously having missed something here. My face must have shown my confusion, because I heard Rosalie heave a loud sigh.

"Bella, come on! Think for just a second. Emmett just made a comment, which could be considered sexual, about the image on the ultrasound. Papa Bear over there flipped out at the hint of his unborn daughter being a sexual being, and attacked the big-mouthed idiot," Rosalie quipped bluntly.

I gasped. _Now _I understood. I rolled my eyes at my big brother, now cautiously leaning against the love seat's largest remaining piece. "Emmett, you are really a moron," I said, shaking my head. "And you, Papa Bear," I said, addressing my husband, "Are going to have to get a hold on yourself. You've known Emmett for over seventy years. You know he has no filter! I love you for loving our daughter and wanting to protect her, but taking out Emmett is not the way, alright? No matter how much the idiot might deserve it. I'm sure Rose can help us with that anyways, right Rose?"

"Absolutely," Rose answered, reaching her hand up to slap Emmett in the back of his head.

"Sorry Carlisle," Emmett grumbled.

"I am as well, Emmett. Bella is right - I know better to behave that way. But please, son, try to monitor your commentary about my daughter in the future. I cannot promise a better reaction in the future, and truly, there are better ways to remodel the house."

That last comment brought about a bit of laughter from the room, and I sighed in relief. Obviously the crisis was over.

"Alright, everyone," Eleazar announced. "Now that the drama has passed, perhaps we could see the second child? We know there is a little girl coming into this world, but I do believe there is more to discover, ¿si?"

"Eleazar is correct," Carlisle said, taking a deep breath. "Bella, are you alright to continue?"

"Of course, honey," I said happily. I laid back down on the table and smiled up at Carlisle. "You know, we didn't even get to celebrate the fact that we're having a baby girl yet."

His entire countenance changed - it was now soft, with a hint of awe, and no longer was there any hint of anger. "A baby girl," he whispered. "Our daughter."

"That's right, honey. Our daughter."

He smiled with so much happiness that it was nearly blinding, then leaned down and placed a tender kiss on my lips. "I love you," he whispered as he pulled away.

Carlisle put the ultrasound machine back in position and once again covered my belly with gel. Placing the wand back on my abdomen, he moved it around a bit before the image of both babies came up on the screen again. Once he had it, he angled the wand the opposite direction as he had the previous time, and brought up the image of the second baby. We all took a moment to appreciate the profile, Carlisle once again pointing out to us each little detail. It was adorable to see him this way, his chest nearly swelling with pride when he counted five toes on one of the feet.

The baby shifted a bit, and suddenly we had a clearer view of the lower extremities. Suddenly, my breath caught in my throat. "It's Carlisle Junior!" I cried, recognizing a bit of my son that hadn't been present on my daughter.

Elly immediately ran up to my husband and clapped him on the back in a masculine way as they hugged. At the same moment, I was submerged in the arms of all three of my sisters. I could barely believe it - we were having a son and a daughter! Every dream we'd ever had was coming true!

Once we all separated, Carlisle caught me up in his arms, swinging me around once, not minding the blue gel that was now all over his shirt. He kissed me joyously, the light never leaving his face. When he pulled away, we looked out at the rest of our family. I could see that everyone was reveling in the wonderful news of the day.

"Oh! This is so exciting!" squealed Jasper as he jumped up and down, clapping his hands.

We all looked at him with eyebrows raised for a moment before doubling over in laughter. Obviously our collective joy and excitement had been more than he could take.

"Oh, fuck you all!" He said, feigning anger through his grin and stomping out of the room. "Come on, Alice!" He yelled from downstairs a second later.

Alice grinned and ran out of the room, calling her congratulations back to us one more time.

Seconds later, Eleazar and Emmett both announced their intentions to go for a hunt and invited their wives to join them. As they walked out of the door, Carmen called back to me, to remind me that tomorrow morning I was drawing another slip of paper from the hat. I half groaned, wondering what on earth my crazy vampire family would have in store for me this time.

"Well, we sure can clear a room, huh honey?" I joked, winking at my handsome husband.

"Oh, Bella, my love, they're just giving us some space so that we can celebrate our wonderful news. What do you say we go celebrate properly?"

His implications were not lost on me. I jumped off the table and directly into his arms. "Let's go, honey," I whispered into his ear. I placed a few open-mouthed kisses against his neck before speaking again. "But tell me, are there any vampire traditions for celebrating this sort of news?"

Carlisle groaned lowly, and chuckled. "You bet you ass, baby."

**A/N: I've been planning this since before I ended the prequel, so I'm thrilled to FINALLY make the announcement! I hope you're all excited about the news? Leave me a review and let me know!**


	29. 28 Girls Day Out

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter and the well wishes on my new addition. Thank you also for being so patient. My little Layla is truly an angel baby, but it's still a little rough to find time to write between feedings and dealing with the older two. But I'm figuring it out.**

**I'm glad that you are all excited about the twins. A few people asked, so I do want to say that the twins are NOT reincarnated Edward and Esme. To me, it would just be way to weird for Bella to give birth to the man she was once in love with, not to mention it would really complicate things for Carlisle and Bella. Thus, the babies will be purely a mix of Carlisle and Bella's DNA. **

**The next few chapters are going to be a little intense, I think, but go with me on this. It's worth the ride. I hope you'll enjoy where my mind is taking us. **

**You all know that Stephenie Meyer is the owner of Twilight and makes all the money, not me, right?**

Chapter 28: Girl's Day Out

BPOV

I woke up the morning after the ultrasound, still basking in the warmth of my afterglow, and sighed with contentment as I nestled myself further into the crook of Carlisle's arm. I had more than I'd ever hoped for in my twenty-three years: the perfect husband, a wonderful family, a son and daughter that I was probably only a month or so away from meeting, and eternity ahead of me during which to love them all.

"Sweetheart?" came the sweet, honeyed tenor beside me. "I know you're awake, you're not fooling anyone..."

Of course he knew. As if I could hide anything from his vampire senses. I had only been still in an attempt to prolong my moments in his arms before I was dragged off to the inevitable - choosing today's activity from what I referred to, though only in my head, as the "hat of horrors". I knew that everyone meant well when they put in their suggestions - well, maybe everyone except for Emmett - but after the disastrous game of miniature golf, I was really a bit worried about what I might choose this time.

"Nope," I giggled. "I'm still sleeping. Perhaps a good morning kiss would do the trick..."

I didn't have to ask twice. Carlisle used one finger to tilt my chin up towards his face, and brought his lips down to meet mine in a tender kiss.

"There now, my darling," he said as he pulled away. "Now let's get up - Alice has been pacing outside our bedroom door for the last thirty-seven minutes waiting for you to wake up."

"He's right!" came the voice of my pixie sister through the door. "You have no idea how annoying it is not to know exactly when things will happen!"

I laughed. "Alice, everyone else lives everyday like that. Get used to it!"

Alice groaned, leading all three of us to laugh. "Just put on your pajamas and come downstairs... Please!"

I gave Carlisle one last kiss, and then pulled myself out of the bed, slipping on a pair of my silk pajama pants and a matching tank top, which now left a few inches of skin showing at the bottom thanks to my growing belly. As we reached the door, Carlisle looked down over my figure and an adorable grin crept over his face - I loved watching his reactions to the pregnancy; the innocence and joy simply shined through his every expression.

He slipped his hand around mine and led the way into the living room.

"Good morning everyone," I called as we entered. They all chorused back their greetings to me as Alice and Emmett came barreling toward me carrying the red ski cap that held all of the day's possibilities.

"Time to pick another one, Bells!" Emmett bellowed as he jumped over the back of the couch to reach me. I laughed at his extreme enthusiasm, but reached my hand into the bag anyways. "What is it? What is it?" He asked, as impatient as a small child.

I looked at the little slip of paper. "Girl's day out in Boston," I read.

"Ooohhhh, Goody!" cried Alice, jumping up and down.

I looked over at Rose and Carmen, and saw that they were also very excited. Smiling, I glanced at Jasper, to see if their excitement had affected him once again. Catching my eye and realizing my intentions, he rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at me. I just laughed.

"Alright, since the girls are going to be out all day, why don't we all go out for a hunt?" Carlisle asked all the boys.

I heard Emmett cheer as Alice and Rosalie grabbed onto my hands and pulled me toward the stairs. I smiled, knowing that everyone was excited about the day ahead.

Just over an hour later, after a semi-exhasperated Alice had finished singing her praises to the fashion world for re-embracing the empire waistline, so that _something_ I owned still fit me fairly well, the four of us set out on our way towards Boston. As we drove toward the city, we talked about our plans for the day and discussed ideas for decorating the babies' nursery (Alice's idea of a modern color scheme of brown and tan, with pink added on the girl's side and blue on the boy's, was so far our preference).

When we finally arrived in the city, Alice drove directly to a store called Bump, which she explained was the best designer boutique in town for maternity clothes. _Leave it to Alice to know that!_ We spent two hours in this store alone, during which I only left the confines of my dressing room to parade myself in front of the large three-way mirror and my three sisters who stood beside it. The three of them took turns going out onto the sales floor, only to return with arms full of more clothes for me to try on.

"Carmen!" I whined as my eldest sister returned with yet another pile of dresses. "Did you guys forget that I'm only likely to be pregnant for another four to six weeks? The three of you have picked out enough clothes already to last me twice that time!"

My sisters laughed, and Carmen simply shook her head as she set the pile down in my dressing room. "Just try them on, hermanita."

I groaned, but turned back to my dressing room. "Fine, but this is the last load, then we're leaving!" I muttered lowly, knowing that they could all hear me clearly.

None of them argued, so I took my small victory and tried on my last pile of clothes with renewed enthusiasm. Really, despite my complaining, I was having a good time. The constant stream of conversation with my sisters was amusing, and I couldn't deny how much I enjoyed seeing myself in clothes that showcased my rounded abdomen - it thrilled me to no end to see the physical evidence of our miracle.

I finished trying on the clothes, and the four of us, after much debate, selected what we were going to purchase. I argued that, despite the large pile that Alice agreed to put back, we were still buying way more than we needed, but my sisters would not relent. We walked out of the store, the three of them bearing the weight of our purchases back to the trunk of the M3.

Not far from Bump was a group of small baby boutiques. I have to admit, I didn't even need Alice's help to get excited about this stop - never in my life had I been so excited about shopping before, not even for my wedding dress! Buying cribs and layettes and the like made everything about my pregnancy seem that much more real. It reminded me not only that I was pregnant, but that, in a few short weeks, Carlisle and I would have two new people to care for and love. I could hardly contain my excitement as my sisters and I roamed through the store, oohing and aahing over mini overalls and tiny mary jane shoes. The saleswoman who rang us up nearly did a happy dance as she imagined her commission - we spent a ridiculous amount of money in that one shop, but for once, not even _I_ complained. The twins would, without a doubt, be spoiled by the aunts and uncles - _or were they their brothers and sisters?_ - as well as their parents.

As my sisters and I gathered around the trunk of Rosalie's car, desperately trying to shove more shopping bags into its depths, I decided the time had come for me to make my stand.

"Alright, girls, this morning has been tons of fun, but I think the time has come to stop shopping for the day... Otherwise we are going to have to walk home."

"I can give up my seat in the car and run back," Alice suggested, causing the rest of us to dissolve into giggles. Only Alice would be willing to run home alone to facilitate more shopping.

"Oh, come on, Alice. If we buy everything today, we won't have any excuse to go shopping again tomorrow..." Rose teased, causing us once again to giggle.

"And even if we wanted to keep shopping, cariña," Carmen added, "We cannot. We have other plans for this afternoon, remember? And if we don't stop first to feed Bella, we will all find ourselves subjected to Carlisle's wrath!"

Carlisle's "wrath" would have been the cause of more giggles, had it not been for the incident between him and Emmett the day before. Now that my formerly mild-mannered, gentle, soft-spoken husband had gone all "Papa Bear" on us, he was definitely being taken more seriously.

"Don't forget Bella's wrath!" I teased. "Another thirty minutes and the three of you are going to look appetizing!"

My point made, we piled into the car and headed across town toward the day spa, stopping to pick up Mexican take-out for me on the way.

We arrived at Bella Sante, a day spa, just in time for our appointments. My sisters had arranged a maternity massage for me to enjoy while the three of them got manicures. As I lay on the u-shaped pillow, my baby belly hanging down into its center, I couldn't help but remember my last trip to a spa... Or should I say the after-effects of my last trip? Carlisle had gone absolutely crazy over the silkiness of my skin from the treatment I had received, and, despite the incredible embarrassment of having screamed his name in ecstasy within easy hearing distance of fifteen vampires, it had been one of the most incredible experiences of my life thus far. _I wonder if we'll be having the same treatment today? I hope so!_

I allowed myself to relax completely as the masseuse kneaded all of the tension out of my back and shoulders. Closing my eyes, I let myself imagine the future. In my daydream, I saw myself, standing next to Carlisle, each of us with a child in our arms. Carlisle was holding a little boy who was his spitting image, with the exception of his shining blue eyes. He was smiling up at his father, and I could tell that Carlisle was his hero. I was holding a little girl, with long, wavy blond hair that reminded me of Rosalie, and my own brown eyes. She was giggling, her smile lighting up the whole image. Carlisle and I were gazing deeply into each other's eyes - mine, I noticed, were the same shade of topaz as his own - and it was obvious that we were even more in love in this vision than we were today. I may not have Alice's power, but I was sure that, if I just believed, this daydream would one day be our reality.

The gentle voice of the masseuse called my name, drawing me back into the present. I thanked her for the fabulous massage, and waited for her to leave the room before getting up from the table and wrapping myself in the warm terry cloth robe she had left for me.

I opened the door, and was greeted by a tall, black-haired girl named Lina, who announced that she was my esthetician. She led me into another room, where I found Rosalie waiting for me.

"Alice and Carmen are next door, having body wraps done. Since you can't have one due to the pregnancy, you and I are going to enjoy the Bella Provence body treatment instead," she explained.

"What's the Bella Provence treatment?" I asked.

"I'm going to exfoliate your skin with sea salt and lavender, then cover you in a lavender cream. You'll have a chance to just relax while your skin soaks that in, and then we'll shower you off and spray you with a lavender mist before you go," Lina said.

"Oh, that sounds nice," I replied.

Rose winked conspiratorially at me. "It will be. You know, the sea salts will make your skin as soft and smooth as satin, and lavender is such a lovely scent - so close to freesia..."

I immediately understood - Carlisle will love it. I grinned at my sister and settled into the chair next to her.

Thirty minutes later, Rosalie and I were lounging in our chairs, soaking in (well, I was at least - Rose was really just wearing it, what with the impenetrable skin and all) the lavender cream. I decided to take advantage of this rare moment of privacy with my sister.

"Rose? I know that I've asked you this before, but are you really okay with the whole baby thing? I know that it's something that you've always wanted, and..."

"Bella, stop," she interrupted. "Like I told you before, I couldn't be any happier for you than I am. I've accepted the fact that I can't have a baby. I won't lie to you and say that I didn't feel jealous at all. I did. For a second. But every bit of jealousy was covered by joy almost immediately. Bella, we're going to have two babies in our house! Two little miracles to love and take care of... They might not be mine, but it's still more than I ever thought to wish for."

"If I wasn't practically naked and covered in lavender cream right now, I'd hug you, Rosalie."

"I'll consider myself hugged - stay where you are," she said through her laughter.

"You really think everything will be okay, Rose?" I asked, my serious tone returning.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Bells. There's lots of ways this can go bad - the babies could come out with the mentality of newborn vampires, which would make them too much like the immortal children. You remember what they are, right?"

I nodded, a shiver going down my spine as I recalled the story Carlisle had told me about the Denali clan's mother. She had been destroyed by the Volturi for creating a vampire in the form of a young child, the result being an uncontrollably destructive and highly dangerous creature. My own children sometimes appeared this way in my nightmares.

"I don't think that will happen though, Bella. It's possible, of course. But I can't bring myself to believe that something this miraculous happened - a vampire getting a human pregnant - if it was all going to be for naught."

We sat quietly for a moment, thinking about her words. Was it possible she was right? I wanted so much to believe it.

"You know," she said suddenly, "I just remembered something that Esme told me a long time ago. I have never thought about it again, probably because I wanted nothing more than to disregard the words as soon as she spoke them. It was two nights after you, Edward, and Alice returned from Italy. Two nights after you came over demanding the family vote on your humanity.

As I'm sure you'll remember, I wasn't too happy with your decision back then. Mostly because I couldn't see beyond myself... I couldn't seem to understand that just because I wanted or valued something, that everyone else did not necessarily feel the same way. Esme knew that. She really was the perfect mother, you know... She always _knew_, always understood. And even when I was being a complete bitch, she loved me."

"I hope I'm even a little bit like her when I'm a mother," I whispered.

"You will be, Bella," Rose responded sincerely. "You've always been a bit like Esme. You are the only person I've ever known who could love as deeply and unconditionally as she did. You've always put everyone else before yourself, you care more about the safety and happiness of everyone around you before your own. You will be a wonderful mother, Bella, just as she was."

"Thank you, Rose. That means more than you can know... So what did Esme say to you back then?"

"Well, amongst other things that she told me that night, the part that I was specifically referring to was about you. She told me that I had to trust you, and fate, to know what was best... That whatever was meant to be in your future would happen, no matter what decision was made that night. And, most importantly, she told me that you would bring something to our family that no one else ever could - and that we should hold tight to you and protect you, because whatever it was that you would bring to us was irreplaceable. Thinking back on that conversation now, I wonder if she somehow knew..."

As I took in Esme's words, so many emotions ran through me. I remembered the words she spoke to me the night before my wedding. _"You are the glue, sweet girl. You'll keep the Cullens whole. I couldn't leave my family in better hands than yours." _Part of me wanted to share that with Rose, especially since she was being so open with me. But, at the same time, those moments with Esme had been something special, personal... I really wanted to keep them to myself. In my heart, though, I surged with pride, knowing that Esme had believed in me so much the whole time.

"Thank you for telling me that, Rose. Was that really the reason you disliked me so much back then?"

"Honestly, Bella? I never disliked you. From the first time we met you, I feared you. You were an enormous risk - we barely knew you, but you knew our secret. You know what that means now, what danger you presented. And then, no offense, you were danger magnet supreme. We had more trouble in the first eighteen months of knowing you than in the previous seven decades!

But above all else, I resented you for having everything I couldn't, and not appreciating it. You were so pure and good, that was obvious. I thought you were stupid and naïve for your willingness to give up your humanity to become a monster like us. Because that's what we are. We're monsters. That's one of the few things that Edward and I ever agreed on."

"Rose, I argued that point with Edward constantly, and I'll do it again with you now. You. Are. Not. A. Monster. None of you are. James? Victoria? Maria? All monsters. Not because they are vampires, but because they were evil and placed no value on life - human or vampire, and because they took pleasure in the pain of others. But you, Rose? And Carlisle, and the rest of our family? How can you put yourself in the same category as them? You, who risked your own lives to protect me, as well as the rest of Forks, against an army of newborn vampires? You, who turn away from nature to hold on to your humanity and preserve life? You, who love with your whole hearts, and are loved as much in return? You're not human anymore, Rosalie, but that doesn't mean you are something awful."

"That's the problem, sis. You see all the goodness in us. You've been shielded from our darker side. You saw it a bit on your eighteenth birthday, when Jasper nearly took you out. But what you don't see is the moments when we pass by someone who has a nice scent on a day when it's been awhile since we hunted... The burn in our throat, the pooling of venom in our mouths, the pressing desire to simply sink our teeth into their neck, drinking our fill and finally feeling satisfied. How do you think that makes us feel? Or what about the moment after we've sated ourselves on some animal out in the woods? Just try for one minute to picture Esme launching herself onto the back of a moose and biting through its flesh, swallowing mouthfuls of the animal's blood until it's veins are empty and it lives no more. Does that fit your image of Esme? As much as we pretend to be normal, as much as we hold tight to every bit of humanity we have left, it's always out of our grasp, Bella. There's that bit of monster living in each of us. Just because we choose to suppress it most of the time, it's never really gone.

That's it, Bella. That's the truth. I don't feel the need to mope about it constantly like Edward did, but it does affect me. And I hate that you are going to have to deal with it too. I wish there was a way to protect you from it, but I know, and accept, that there's not. But I'm glad that we at least talked about it today, because you should be prepared for what you're going to face."

She stopped talking, and we both remained quiet for several minutes. I spent that time contemplating what she had said. In some ways, she was right - I did tend to romanticize my vampires. I had to agree that just the thought of Esme taking down a large animal seemed completely wrong to me. On the other hand, though, the thought of Carlisle taking down a mountain lion made my panties wet. _Yeah, I'm full of double standards. _Despite the less pleasant image she had just painted of vampirism, I was glad that she had told me what she did, not only because it was something that I needed to hear, but because it was just another example of how much closer we had become over the past few years that she was willing to have such a talk with me.

"I know it's not all sunshine and sparkly skin, Rose, but I have to believe that our lives are what we make of them. It can't be all that bad if I don't let it."

"You're partly right. I mean, you can definitely choose to focus on the bad and mope around constantly like you're living under a cloud of despair, or you can choose to make the best of a bad situation. I just wanted you to understand that, even when that's your focus, the monster never really leaves you."

"But Rose, even humans have their demons... right?"

"True, but inner demons are nothing in comparison with blood l..." I saw panic mar Rosalie's beautiful features, but she covered it quickly. "...loss associated with the post-partum period..." _Nice cover, Rose._

Turning to the left, I saw what had caused my sister's odd behavior - Lina was walking back into the room to cleanse us off the lavender cream.

"Yes, Rose, I agree," I replied, trying to keep up our cover. "But I'm sure that Lina doesn't want to hear about the less glamorous parts of childbirth. Perhaps we should change the subject now."

Rosalie winked at me and we settled into a light-hearted chat with Lina about the latest Hollywood gossip.

When Lina finished with us, Rosalie and I were led back into the cabana to re-dress. While we were in there, we agreed to keep our earlier conversation between us and leave the subject for the time being. We were both well aware of the fact that there was no longer a choice in the 'will Bella become a vampire' matter, and she felt that there was no need for me to stress about the issue anymore. I tended to agree.

We met up with Alice and Carmen again in the main lobby of the spa, and the four of us set out together toward the car. It was already near dinner time, and I was exhausted, despite having spent the vast majority of the afternoon relaxing. I had been noticing over the past week or so that I seemed to have much less energy than usual. I found myself napping nearly every afternoon, and, despite the elevated level of lust that Jasper continually reminded me that I was projecting onto the house, even my sexy times with Carlisle were becoming less frequent as my energy level decreased.

I was starving as well. I was well aware of the fact that I should have had a snack during our time at the spa - Carlisle didn't usually let more than three hours pass without feeding me. I hadn't had my thermos of blood yet today either, and I hoped that the babies could be patient for another hour while we made our way home, or else I'd be getting the urge to cut myself in a car full of vampires...not a good idea!

"Hey Alice?" I called. "I know you had planned for us to go to a restaurant, but would you mind if we just picked up something from a drive thru? I'm starving, and I'm pretty sure there's a thermos at home with my name on it."

"Sure honey, no problem," Alice replied. "I'm sure you're tired too... I had a vision of Carlisle yelling at me in the forest earlier - he's probably angry with us for wearing you out and not feeding you properly today," she said with a grin. "You want a piggy back ride to the car?"

"No, I think I can make it. Besides, it would look very odd for _you_, my tiny pixie, to be carrying a pregnant me on your back. I think it might attract a little more attention than you want, don't you agree?"

The four of us giggled, and then linked arms and started walking down the street.

The day had been so great, even if it did completely exhaust me. I loved having a chance to get out and have fun, just us girls, and the heart to heart with Rosalie was definitely a special moment for me. As we walked toward the car, chatting merrily with each other, the world suddenly crashed down around us.

Two blocks from the car, I caught a whiff of the most glorious scent - cherries, with a hint of vanilla. My mouth watered and my eyes rolled back in my head. _My god, that smells so fucking good..._ Every bit of sense left me in that moment. I started running in the direction of the scent, and then saw where it was coming from: there, sprawled on the ground no more than fifty feet away from me, was a small Asian girl, probably close to my age, and her bicycle. Blood was dripping down from her cheek, and covering her hands and shins. As I raced toward the bleeding girl, no thoughts passed through my mind besides the sheer desire to ingest the liquid that carried that heavenly scent.

Suddenly, I felt hands grip my upper arms and yank me backwards, holding me tightly. I fought against the force that kept me from the object of my desire, but was unable to escape. I flailed and struggled, crying out in anger and desperation.

"Let me go! I want it! Please! Please! I have to have it!"

"Bella, calm down! You have to be quiet!" A voice said from behind me. Some part of me understood that this voice belonged to the person who was holding me. It was Carmen.

"God! Let me go, Carmen! Let me go! I need it!"

"Bella, hermanita, come back to me! You must fight it! You can do this, cariña, you can fight it."

The haze of what I finally understood to be bloodlust faded just enough for me to hear the pleading in her voice. She was _begging_ me to fight, to walk away from this situation without making a bigger scene. I wanted to. I wanted to do the right thing, for Carmen, for my family, for Carlisle.

Forcing my eyes to focus, I looked at the Asian girl who was now sitting up on the sidewalk. Luckily, she had been so distracted by her own accident that she had not noticed the scene I was causing. The bright red blood that was smeared over her hands threatened to push away the tiny bit of control I had gathered, but I fought it, looking instead at her face. I made myself see her, as a person. She was somebody's daughter, perhaps someone's lover even. I couldn't hurt her. That's not who I was. That's not who I ever would be.

"Get me out of here, Carmen. Please," I whispered, tears pouring from my eyes.

Five minutes later, I sat in the backseat of Rose's M3, still shaking and sobbing in Carmen's arms. Our girl's day out had been so wonderful, right up until the moment that everything fell apart. The moment that I ruined everything. I had never felt this way before - I was disgusted with myself, and I was sure that my sisters were feeling that way about me too. I had let them down. Worse, I had let Carlisle down.

I could hear bits and pieces of their conversation, though none of it was really directed at me. Alice was blaming herself for not Seeing what would happen. That was just ridiculous, and we all knew it. Alice hasn't been able to see any of my decisions since I realized I was pregnant, since my future is so tied up with the twins that I am invisible to her. And it's not like it had been a conscious decision that I made. How could she have known that I was going to do something so awful? And now, here she was, trying to figure out the best way to tell our family, and my husband, in a way that made me look innocent. I couldn't stand to listen to her accept blame that was solely mine.

"Alice," I said, finally speaking. "You can't blame yourself. I know you're used to seeing the future, but you can't see everything! This was _my_ fault, no one's but mine. _I _am the abhorrent, vile monster. _I _will tell Carlisle. And _I_ will be the one he can never look at again."

My strength waned as that last sentence fell from my mouth. I could feel my heart shattering into millions of tiny pieces, because I knew it was true. Surely Carlisle wouldn't want me now. And if he didn't, I wasn't sure I could survive it. My sobs started anew as I buried my face back into Carmen's cold, hard shoulder.

I could hear all three of my sisters trying to reassure me that everything would be fine, but I just shook my head.

"Bella?" Rose said. "I know you don't want to hear this right now, but you and I were so open and honest with each other earlier today, and I think I owe it to you to say this." She paused for a moment. "The way you feel right now, Bella? That's never going to go away."

"Rosalie!" Carmen scolded. "Shut up, now!"

"No, no Carmen... She's right," I said.

It was awful, the way I felt. I understood, finally, all that Rosalie had tried to explain. For the first time, I understood what Rose and Edward had struggled with. I felt infinitely worse, though, because I wasn't even a vampire yet - I was still human, and already struggling to not kill another person to glutton myself with their blood.

And, god, experiencing blood lust like that - it was horrible! I've never wanted anything so badly in my entire life. Was that what my brothers and sisters felt all the time? The amount of respect I had for them increased exponentially. And Carlisle... I had always been impressed with his restraint, his ability to hold so tightly to his humanity that, even as a newborn, he refused human blood. There was no question now that he was a god amongst vampires. But how would he respond to my actions? Would he be forgiving and understanding? Or would his disgust overpower his love for me?

I pressed myself back into Carmen's embrace and cried myself to sleep.

As we pulled into the long driveway that led to our house, Carmen gently shook me awake.

"Come, hermanita, wake up, we're home. Carlisle is waiting for you," she whispered.

Hearing his name brought that now familiar stab of pain back to my heart. He was waiting for me now - would this be the last time he'd do that?

"I want to talk to him alone," I said to my sisters. It was not a request, and they knew it.

"Bella," Rosalie began. "He'll understand. Don't be afraid. Carlisle loves you more than anything, and this will not change that. But above all, he'll understand, and he'll forgive you, because, despite his perfect record, he has known temptation in the past. And every temptation he faced was expected, because he knew what he was. You're still human, there's no way you could have prepared for this."

I took in her words, and hoped that she was right. Either way, I was only a few minutes from knowing.

Rosalie stopped the car in front of the house, not bothering to pull around to the garage. "Bella, we'll go hunt for you while you talk to Carlisle - you should really have some fresh blood as soon as possible."

I didn't disagree. Carmen helped me out of the car, and I was immediately encircled by Carlisle's cold, strong arms. I allowed myself a moment to breathe in his scent and become lost in his loving embrace. I melted against his chest, laying my ear against the spot where his heart had beat over three hundred years ago.

"I love you, Carlisle," I whispered. "I love you so much."

"As I love you, sweetheart," he replied, sliding his index finger under my chin to tilt my face up toward his.

I looked into his eyes, seeing all the love that resided there. Would this be the last time I saw the love there in such a pure form? The thought alone filled my eyes with fresh tears that I could not blink away. As the first tear rolled down my cheek, I saw the concern fill my husband's eyes.

"Bella, my love, what is it?"

"There's something that I have to tell you. Can we go back to the tree swing?"

He agreed, and we walked to the back yard hand in hand. I could feel his nervous tension as we walked, but I knew that he had no idea what he was about to hear. Was it better or worse than he expected?

We reached the tree swing and sat down. I took a deep breath and readied myself for my confession. I joined our hands together, and then looked him in the eye.

"Carlisle, when the girls and I were out today, we passed by a girl who had just been in an accident with her bicycle. She was lying on the ground, bleeding. I tried to attack her. It is only thanks to the superhuman speed and strength of Carmen that I didn't. She held me back and talked to me until I calmed down enough to let her take me away from the situation. I'm sorry, Carlisle. I'm so sorry. I didn't want to hurt her, I swear! Once I realized that she was human, I left. I didn't, I don't, want to drink human blood, Carlisle. I don't want to be a monster! I know you must be disgusted with me right now, Carlisle. If you don't want to be with me anymore, I'd understand."

Those last words nearly killed me to speak, but I had to do it. I couldn't let him feel obligated to stay. I looked back into his eyes, and what I saw there nearly crushed my heart: Carlisle was horrified.

**A/N: Sorry for the cliffie, I know they make you crazy. The next chapter will be in Carlisle's POV - he wants to explain exactly what he thinks of Bella's confession. What did you think of the girl's day and Bella's behavior? Let me know!**


	30. 29 Understanding

**A/N: Stephenie Meyer, owner of all things Twilight, would most certainly not approve of this chapter. I hope that you will, though.**

**Last chapter left off with emo-Bella freaking out over Carlisle's reaction to her bloodlust, and Carlisle seeming a bit upset. Let's see where that leads. **

**I need to say a HUGE thank you to Bama Babe, without whose help I would have accidentally written this chapter in Edward's POV. Thanks, babe, for helping me find my Carlisle! As a token of my affection, let me ask you all to check out her awesome story, Long, Tall, Texan. I'm telling you, the woman weaves one hell of a twisted tale!**

**Finally, SO sorry. I know I said Friday. I'm late. In my defense, though, life is pretty hectic. I'll be back in the swing of things soon, I'm sure.**

**Warning: major vampy sex coming!**

Chapter 29: Understanding

CPOV

The boys and I returned from our hunting trip late in the afternoon, feeling pleasantly full and anxious for our wives to return. The four of us were sitting in the grass in front of the house, casually chatting, and laughing at Emmett's antics as he demonstrated for us the technique he had used to land a bear during the morning's hunt. During this performance, Jasper's phone rang, and he walked to the other side of the yard to take the call.

A few moments later, Jasper returned, and let me know that it had been Alice, calling to make sure we had returned to the house, as the girls were on their way home, and some sort of problem had occurred while they were out, necessitating our presence when they arrived. I was slightly worried about Alice's vague message, and said a silent prayer that my wife and children were safe. I could tell that I was not the only one who was on edge after Alice's call - the lighthearted mood that existed prior to the ringing of the telephone had completely disappeared, and all four of us were now pacing nervously across the yard.

After what seemed like forever, I heard the purring engine of Rosalie's M3 approaching our driveway. The boys and I gathered together at the edge of the grass, and, to my surprise, Rose stopped the car in front of the house, rather than pulling into the garage. I stepped toward the car to help Bella out, but was beaten to it by Carmen, who lifted my wife out of the backseat and placed her directly into my arms. Bella did not kiss me as usual, but instead buried her face in my chest as I held her. The other girls grabbed their husbands and started walking toward the woods, letting me know at a level only vampires could hear that they were going to hunt for Bella and would be back soon.

"I love you, Carlisle. I love you so much," Bella whispered against the fabric of my shirt.

"As I love you, sweetheart," I replied, using a finger to tilt her face up towards mine. I needed to see her eyes. I knew something was wrong, and I had to know what it was. What I saw nearly broke me. My love's eyes were filled with fear as I looked down at her, and I saw the moisture gathering there before the tears began to fall.

"Bella, my love, what is it?" I asked, pleading with her to confide in me. It was physically painful for me to see her so upset.

"There's something that I have to tell you. Can we go back to the tree swing?"

I agreed to her request, and took her hand, leading her around to the back of the house. I was uneasy as we walked. I had no idea what was distressing her so, and her desire to discuss it alone only increased my anxiety. When we reached the swing, we sat, and Bella angled her body toward me, keeping our hands joined.

"Carlisle, when the girls and I were out today, we passed by a girl who had just been in an accident with her bicycle. She was lying on the ground... Bleeding." Bella swallowed hard and took a deep breath before continuing. "I tried to attack her. It is only thanks to the superhuman speed and strength of Carmen that I didn't. She held me back and talked to me until I calmed down enough to let her take me away from the situation without making more of a scene. I'm sorry, Carlisle. I'm so sorry! I didn't want to hurt her, I swear! Once I realized that she was human, I left. I didn't, I don't, want to drink human blood, Carlisle. I don't want to be a monster! I know you must be disgusted with me right now, Carlisle. If you don't want to be with me anymore, I'd understand."

My heart shattered at her words. I immediately pulled her into a tight embrace, feeling her body shudder against me as she sobbed. Today, for the first time in the six years that she'd known us, she finally understood what it meant to be a vampire. And she was not impressed. Did she now regret her decision to be changed? I would give her anything in the world, but was she now going to ask for the one thing that I no longer had to offer? The Volturi had taken this decision out of my hands - if Bella was not changed, they _would_ kill her, and most likely the rest of our family as well. What would I do if she told me that she no longer wanted to be a vampire? What _could _I do?

But even if that moment of insecurity, there were several things I knew for certain. First, I loved my wife, with all my being, no matter what. Second, what happened today was unfortunate, and certainly unintentional on her part. We were so blind, so unprepared when it came to this pregnancy - there was no time for her to be rational. Her actions had simply been guided by instinct, most likely the instincts of our unborn children. What kind of husband, what kind of _man_, for that matter, would I be if I held this against Bella? And third, my wife needed to be reminded of just what kind of man I was.

"Bella," I called, lacing my voice with authority. It's the tone that Emmett refers to as my "dad voice." Jacob, having heard it when I broke up an argument between the wolves and my sons as we prepared for the battle years ago, called it my "alpha voice." Whatever it was, though, I didn't use it often. But this time, I needed Bella not to argue with me.

It worked. She looked up at me, her eyes still sad and fearful.

"Isabella Marie Cullen, am I not your husband? Have I not promised you, over and over again, to love you for all eternity?" I asked, my voice demanding.

"Yes, but..."

"No, Isabella. There are no buts. There are no exceptions. There are no reasons why I would break that vow to you." I reached up to cup her cheeks in my hands, and softened my voice. "You are my life, sweetheart! You think one mistake would change that? Tell me, my love. Tell me what reason I've given you for believing that I am fickle and unforgiving."

"You haven't," she whispered.

"You've hurt me, Bella," I said softly, my voice now back to it's usual quality. "Not by your actions this afternoon, which were not in any way your fault, but by doubting me and my love for you. It pains me to think that you believe me so hard and heartless."

"I don't, Carlisle," she pleaded.

"You may be human yet, Isabella, but you are carrying two half-vampire children. Bloodlust is an issue which every member of this family, including you, now, has dealt with. You know that Jasper, Emmett, Esme, Edward, Eleazar, and Carmen have all fed from humans at least once in the past. Do you think that I love them less because of that? I do not. It is a part of what we are, my love, and while I hate that you have had to deal with this already, when you were not prepared for it, I would never, _could_ never, hold it against you."

"I'm so sorry, Carlisle," she whispered through fresh tears. "You're right. I never had a reason to doubt you. I just... I was..."

"What, sweetheart? Tell me," I coaxed.

"I was so angry with myself. I have always thought that I could be a vampire like you... That I'd never attack a human... But then I went and did it before I was even changed! I'm so scared, Carlisle. I'm afraid of what I'll be like after you change me if I'm this bad already!"

I wrapped my arms tightly around her, offering her comfort and solace. I had to make her understand that this wasn't her fault - I didn't want her wallowing in guilt. "Sweetheart, you might not be a vampire yet, but remember that there are two half-vampire babies growing inside of you right now. This is an unprecedented situation, and unfortunately, that means that we don't know what to expect from day to day or even minute to minute. We _do_, however, know that the babies need blood, and they are used to having it everyday at noon. You were not only late eating your own food, but also drinking the blood for them. It's understandable, Bella, that your body reacted the way that it did. I know it's not ideal, but now we know that you cannot skip feedings, and you most certainly cannot be out in public if you haven't gotten your proper nutrition."

She was quiet.

"Isabella," I began, once again using the authoritative tone. "You must take better care of yourself. You must get the proper nutrition. It is up to us to do everything possible to make them as healthy and strong as possible. These are our children, Bella, our miracles. Promise me, Bella."

"I promise. I promise, Carlisle, I promise..." Her words came out as pleas as tears once again washed the soft skin of her face.

I didn't want to see her cry anymore. My heart had broken over and over again this evening at her pain. It was time to make my wife happy again.

"Bella," I whispered, "I love you, sweetheart. You are everything to me - you and our babies. Please, Bella, tell me you know that. Tell me that you believe in me. In us. Please."

"I do, Carlisle," she breathed. "I love you so much. Thank you, honey, thank you for loving me."

"Always," I murmured just before pressing my lips against hers, desperate to reconnect to her, to remind her of how much I felt for her.

Our lips moved together as one, my hands reaching around her, one on her neck and the other on her lower back, pulling her against me, her own hands finding purchase in my hair. The kiss was desperate and needful, yet tender. Our mouths opened to each other, but we did not deepen the kiss further, both of us content to share this small bit of intimacy.

We stayed this way for several minutes, taking only seconds apart to let Bella breathe and to once again reassure each other of our love, until suddenly, a low moan passed through Bella's parted lips.

"What is it, baby?" I asked.

"Mmmmm... Moose, I think."

I laughed, unable to stop myself. Here I thought the sound had been a response to me, only to find out it was her reaction to smelling a thermos of moose blood. Sure enough, I looked towards the woods and saw Jasper and Emmett emerge from the trees. They ran up the yard to Bella and me quickly, and Emmett passed a thermos to her.

"Here you go, little sis. Carlisle told us that you like moose, so we found two for you," he explained, nodding towards Jasper, who had a second thermos in his hand. "Alice said you might need the extra today. Eleazar took the girls a bit farther out, to hunt in the preserve - after the exposure to fresh blood earlier, they all needed a bit more of a hunt. They'll be back in a few hours."

"Thank you, Em," Bella replied a moment later as she finished the first thermos. He grinned at her, and then Jasper handed her the second, which she took gratefully, bringing it immediately to her lips and pulling from it in big gulps. Watching her, I felt my pants begin to tighten. _So fucking hot._

I was doing my best to control myself, but my ability to contain my lust was destroyed when a large droplet of blood fell from Bella's lower lip and began to glide down her jaw. I tried, honestly I did, but I only have so much strength.

I leaned towards my wife, who, when she saw my approach, lowered the thermos from her lips. I heard myself growling as I reached the soft skin of her neck, inhaling her scent. _Glorious... _ My tongue poked out from between my parted lips and I pressed it against her neck, finding the drop of blood that lay there, and licking all the way up the path it had followed until I reached her mouth. We both moaned lowly as my tongue slipped into her mouth.

"God damn, Carlisle!" I heard Jasper yell in a pained voice as he and Emmett ran back into the woods. _Oh yeah, forgot that they were here. Sorry Jasper._

Returning my attention to the sexy woman in front of me, I reached up with my left hand and took the thermos from her hands, setting it on the ground beside us, then pressed my hands against her, pushing her backwards until she was laying on her back in the swing.

"See, Isabella? You see what you do to me?" I said lowly, my erection pressing against her thigh as I leaned down to ravish her mouth. She moaned in response, and I moved my lips down to her neck, sucking and nibbling the soft flesh there. "You're irresistible, baby, you take away all my control. Watching you drink blood..." I groaned loudly, my eyes rolled back in my head at the mental image. "God, Bella... I can't wait to see you changed! You will be so amazing... You've always been amazing, Bella. And you're mine..."

My fingers had been hard at work under her shirt, unhooking her bra, and I pushed the hem of her shirt up over her breasts, immediately finding her nipples with my mouth. I drew one in, suckling it and teasing it with flicks of my tongue and light nips with my teeth. She responded by arching her back toward me and inhaling sharply.

"Yours..." she whispered. "Always..."

I pulled away from the breast I had been teasing, ready to move to the other one. "Isabella, tell me again. Tell me you're mine. Tell me you love me, you trust me, you believe in me. Tell me you'll never doubt me again."

"I'm yours, Carlisle. I'm only yours," she breathed as I flicked her nipple into a hardened peak. "I promise, I'll never doubt you again...Oh, god!... Your love for me, like mine for you, is forever.... mmmmmm.... I love you, Carlisle. You are my everything."

Having teased her into a near frenzy, I had her just where I wanted her. I placed a final kiss on her breast, then sat upright once again. Her eyes snapped open, and I nearly laughed aloud at her shocked expression when she saw me sitting casually on the swing. She cocked her head to one side, silently questioning me.

"Show me," I demanded gently.

Seeing the determination in her eyes, I knew she understood my meaning. She sat up, and crawled, like a lioness, over to me, bringing one leg over me so that she was straddling my lap. I was impressed with her agility, moving this way on the swing. Once she was above me, she pulled her shirt all the way off over her head, and then set to work on removing mine. When I was topless, she brought her lips down to my flesh, pressing open-mouthed kisses onto my neck and collarbone. Between kisses, she whispered her love for me and reminded me again that she was mine for eternity.

Her warm fingers found my nipples, and teased them, causing them to harden further. Once that task was finished, she placed her flat palm over my chest, at the place that my heart should have been beating.

"Your heart, Carlisle? It doesn't beat, but it is true and pure. It is more perfect to me than any heart that actively pumps, because it holds your love for me."

She brought her lips back to mine, kissing me with love and passion. The kiss lasted until she needed to break for air, and then she rose up off the swing, dropping to her knees before it. Her hands, now resting on my hips, beckoned me to rise, so I did. She quickly removed my pants and boxer briefs, then nudged me, a silent request for me to sit back down. I did. Some small part of me was a bit uncomfortable with the fact that I was naked in our backyard, with my wife on her knees before me, when any of our family members could return at any moment. A second later, however, Bella took my hardened length into her mouth, and that part of me was immediately forgotten.

Bella worked my cock thoroughly, her tongue swirling around the head, teasing me for a few moments before she'd take the entire length into her mouth, her head bobbing up and down as she sucked me with a tight vacuum. I could head my groans and sighs leaving my mouth as my fingers wound themselves into her beautiful mahogany locks. With a great amount of effort, I was able to keep my hips firmly settled on the swing, though my body's desire was to lift and thrust myself into her mouth. But I had asked her to show me, so I had to let her take charge.

Just as I felt the tightening feeling reaching it's limit, Bella let my cock slide out of her mouth. I groaned at the loss of he warmth, thinking that she was teasing me as I had done to her.

"Sssshhhh, honey," she whispered lustily. "I'm not done yet."

She stood and removed her leggings and panties, then climbed back up onto the swing, straddling me as she had before. Our centers were aligned, and it was taking all I had not to thrust up into her. But I waited. She brought her lips to mine, kissing me hungrily.

"You are the sexiest, most amazing vampire I've ever known. You are the most amazing _man_ I've ever known. You are my proof, Carlisle, that good can be found anywhere. You are my hope."

"I love you, Bella," I replied.

"I know." It was the best answer she could have given me. "And I love you too."

With that said, she lowered herself onto my throbbing cock. We both cried out in pleasure at the intensity of being joined. Her warm, wet flesh surrounded me, and the feeling was indescribable.

"God, baby, you feel so damn good!" I murmured into her ear before I took the lobe between my lips and sucked on it. She moaned lowly in response.

Bella used the muscles of her legs to raise and lower herself, riding my cock and bringing both of us immense pleasure. I rested one hand on her back in an attempt to keep her steady since the swing was rocking with her movement, and brought the other hand up to tease her nipples.

"I love being inside of you, baby...I will always want you. Always."

"God, Carlisle... You feel like heaven... I want you so much, honey. The man... uuuggghhhh... And the vampire."

I understood her meaning. She was accepting what I am. What she would be. She was telling me that she was no longer afraid. I did not, however, understand well enough to prepare myself for what came next.

Bella arched her back toward me, and began to lean backwards. It was amazing, as the new angle caused my cock to rub against her inner walls, directly against her g-spot. Her moans intensified, and I knew that it was as incredible for her as it was for me. Suddenly, she began to rise again, and when she was upright, I noticed that she held something in her hands. It was the thermos. She raised it up into the air, and tilted it upside down. The moose blood that had been left after her drink earlier began to pour from the spout, and, like a waterfall, splashed directly over her breasts.

I reached out, grabbing her hips firmly with my hands, stopping her movements and holding her still while I thrust my hips up into her. I drove my length into her over and over as I lapped up the blood with long strokes of my tongue over her soft mounds. I could hear my chest rumbling with a low growl as we played out this most carnal fantasy. I had never done anything like this before - I would have expected it to make me feel like an animal, but tonight, I only felt like a man. A man who had a sex goddess as his wife.

"Oooohhhh, god yes! Mmmm.... Carlisle....aaahhhh...." Bella breathed, no longer able to make actual words.

I was thrusting into her fast and hard, the combination of the heady scent of Bella's arousal and the sweet scent of the moose's blood, and the feeling of her walls tightening around me as she neared her climax bringing me closer and closer to reaching my own. I was barely holding on to my sanity.

The force of my next hard drive into her was apparently more than the chains of the swing could take, and we suddenly found ourselves on the ground. That did not deter me, though. Her chest now clean and covered in a thin coat of my venom, I returned my lips to hers, plunging my tongue into her mouth and tasting her sweet flavor. Our tongues dueled for dominance, which she finally surrendered to me. She was on top of me now, but I flipped us at vampire speed, pressing her naked body against the wooden slats of the swing's back.

"God, baby.... I'm close...so close... Uuuggghhh, Bella... I want to feel you come, baby."

"Now, honey... Now!" She cried breathlessly as her walls clenched around me. "OH Carlisle!"

I drove into her one last time, roaring her name ferally into the woods as my venom poured into her. My orgasm was so intense that I had to bite down on my own arm to prevent myself from sinking my teeth into my pregnant wife. I had never before felt the urge so strongly, and thanked god for my control.

I withdrew myself from her depths and dropped down onto the cold ground beside her, panting. "God, baby, what you do to me..."

"You are amazing," she breathed. "That was incredible..."

I could see her eyelids drooping, so I gave her one last kiss before I rose and dressed at vampire speed. I paused for a moment to survey the destruction around me: one of the chains holding the swing to the branch in the tree had severed, and the swing now hung awkwardly on one side while the other was embedded several inches down into the dirt. There was a puddle of blood on the ground below the swing, and the thermos had been cast aside. Bella's clothes were still strewn about on the ground nearby, and I noticed deep footprints near the spot where the sing lay in the dirt, left there as I tried to focus my strength away from Bella as she gave me pleasure.

I shook my head, hoping that I'd have time to clean up before the rest of the family returned. For now, though, I had to get my wife into bed... to sleep, this time. I quickly gathered her clothes, and then lifted her up into my arms. Her eyelids were heavy as I ran her to our bedroom, so I placed her, still naked, underneath the sheets.

"Do you need anything else, sweetheart?" I asked.

"No, Carlisle, thank you," she mumbled, already falling asleep.

I pressed a kiss onto her forehead, whispered goodnight, and went back outside to repair the swing.

It didn't take long to clean up the mess we had made in the yard, however, I was unfortunate enough to take just long enough re-hanging the swing to be caught in the act by Emmett and Jasper when they returned.

"What happened to the swing, there, pops?" Emmett sang, not even trying to hide his mirth.

"I don't know Emm, it looks like the old man's lust knocked it to the ground just like it did to us!" Jasper joked.

"Yes, yes, get it all out now, boys," I replied, rolling my eyes. I was never going to live this down.

"Just tell us that Bella's still in one piece," came a much more feminine voice from behind me. _Oh hell, the whole family gets to revel in my embarrassment now. _

"Hello, Alice," I said kindly. "Your sister is just fine, no need to worry. She's upstairs asleep."

"Can't imagine why," Emmett said, letting loose a loud guffaw. "You got a damn good start, here, Carlisle. Pretty soon Bella'll get all vamped out and then you two can start knocking down houses like me and Rosie!"

"Thank you Emmett," I replied. "But while we are on the subject of my wife, can I ask you ladies why on earth you neglected to take proper care of her today? What were you thinking?!"

A part of me felt wrong about laying into the girls this way, since, like I had told Bella, we really did not know what to expect in regards to the pregnancy. None the less, I considered it to be irresponsible on all of their parts that they did not take care of Bella's basic needs today, and it was important to me that they understand that.

"I know, Carlisle, and I'm sorry. We were on our way to get her blood when it happened," Rosalie answered.

"Yes, you were, but how many hours late were you already by then? Five? Carmen, you saw Bella nearly cut her wrist in a restaurant in Spain when she needed blood. She cannot afford to drink her own blood now, she's already become a bit anemic due to the demands of the pregnancy! We don't know much, certainly not enough, about the babies, so we all have to do everything we can to keep them, and Bella, healthy. If shopping is too much a distraction for you to be able to do that, then perhaps it's best that Bella remains home the rest of the pregnancy where I can care for her myself."

"No, Carlisle, don't punish Bella for our mistake," Carmen pleaded.

"We'll do better, we promise," Alice added. The others all nodded in agreement.

"See that you do," I answered in my authoritative tone. "I don't want to have a repeat of this day - Bella was beside herself with guilt over what happened, and I don't want her to ever feel that way again."

"Carlisle?" Jasper asked. "Would you mind if I talked with her about it tomorrow morning? I have a bit of experience dealing with the guilt that comes with losing control of my bloodlust. I think I can help her understand."

"I'd appreciate that, Jasper. I think it would help her to hear it from you more than it did from me. Thank you. Now, if you all don't mind, I'd like to return to my wife."

"Claro," agreed Eleazar, winking at me. "We'll finish up the repair of the swing for you."

I returned to my bedroom, where Bella was still sound asleep. I removed my clothing and slid into the bed beside her, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her back into my chest. Though it is not possible for my body to become physically tired, I truly felt exhausted as I laid with her. The evening had been so emotionally stressful for both of us. I worried so much about her, about what effect the pregnancy was having on her body - even worse, the delivery, about changing her, about the pain she would be in, about her as a vampire. I promised myself that I would do whatever it took to prevent her from feeling the way she did today - I would teach her how to handle the bloodlust, how to resist.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I barely heard Jasper, yelling at me from across the house to stop worrying and just go to sleep already. I laughed. Poor Jasper, I had been harassing him with my emotions ever since we returned to Hanover. I decided to take his advice, and nuzzled my head into Bella's beautiful mahogany locks and closed my eyes, freeing my mind of thoughts.

I spent the entire night laying there, feigning sleep. It was actually quite nice to take a break from my life in that way.

With my eyes still closed, I felt the first rays of the sun warming my skin before I realized that morning had arrived. I opened my eyes and saw that Bella was still wrapped securely in my arms. Leaning in, I pressed countless soft kisses onto her shoulder and neck, my attempt to gently rouse her and invite her to join me in this new day.

She sighed softly and brought one hand up and over her shoulder to cup my cheek, drawing my face down so that our lips could meet. We kissed for a moment, and then she rolled over, turning her body toward me.

"Carlisle? I'm so sorry about yesterday. I don't know what got into me, really. I should never have worried what you would think - you're so compassionate and fair with everyone, it was silly of me to think you would be different with me. Forgive me?"

"Of course, sweetheart. I'm just glad that you remembered, even if it took longer than I would have hoped," I replied, pressing a tender kiss to her forehead. "But Bella, please try not to forget me again. I don't think my heart can take it."

"Never," was her whispered reply.

"Bella, I understand why you were so very afraid yesterday. The way we feel when overcome by bloodlust can be terrifying, and I believe that Jasper wishes to discuss that very subject with you after you have your breakfast this morning. But I want to promise you something. I will do everything it takes to prevent you from feeling the pain, guilt, and remorse that comes with taking a human life. If we have to move to Siberia or the North Pole, Bella, I am willing, without a second thought. I promise you, sweetheart, I will take care of you and protect you, even when all you need protection from is yourself."

She kissed me hard and passionately, her fingers wrapping around my hair to hold me close to her. When she finally pulled away once again, she looked into my eyes and smiled. "Thank you for understanding, for knowing what I need even when I don't. I love you, Carlisle Cullen, and I will be yours for eternity."

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Carlisle is rather perfect, I have to say. Leave me your thoughts, would ya please?**


	31. 30 Making Up

**A/N: Thanks to those of you who reviewed the last chapter. I was a bit nervous about how you'd take the vampy sex, so I was relieved to see that it went over well! This chapter contains several important conversations, and I hope you'll enjoy it.**

**Also, I wanted to give a quick recommendation for reading: The story is called Ithaca is Gorges, by ****giselle-lx. The story is the missing months of New Moon, told from Carlisle and Edward's POVs, alternating chapters. It is completely canon, and I have to say, one of the most compelling portrayals of our dear Carlisle that I've ever read. I adore it. Go check it out and leave her some love - she totally deserves it!**

**Of course, despite the obviousness of this statement, I am not Stephenie Meyer. She owns Twilight, I am merely molding her characters into my own ideals.**

Chapter 30: Making Up

BPOV

I have the best husband on earth. That was the knowledge that I began my morning with after my day in Boston. His reaction to my confession about nearly attacking the human, once I thought about it, really should not have surprised me. I don't know what had come over me that made me doubt him. I was determined to make it up to him today, to show him that there was no question in my mind that he would love me forever, just as I would him.

I'll admit, I was still a bit nervous about my transformation, more so that I had ever been before since I had gotten a taste of bloodlust, but Carlisle's promise to protect me from myself gave me the courage that I needed to face the future. It might not always be easy, but we'd face it together, just as we had everything else in the last four and a half years.

We made love, slowly and tenderly, after he made me that promise. It was a stark contrast to the hard, feral sex we'd had on the swing the night before. I blushed at the thought of the swing - that swing had been the place that our friendship, and our love had developed. So many romantic moments had been shared on that swing, and in the end, we had torn it out of the tree in a moment of passion. I would miss it.

After my shower, I returned to my room, finding Rosalie waiting to help me get ready. I noticed immediately the look of sheepishness on her face - a look I had never before seen marring Rose's beauty. Her eyes lifted to meet mine as I sat down beside her on the bed, and she offered a small smile. I reached over and took her hand.

"What's wrong, Rose?"

"Bella, I'm so sorry about yesterday. I feel awful about everything. About not feeding you, not getting you blood on time, about what I said in the car..."

"Rosalie, please stop," I interrupted. "It wasn't your fault. I knew just as well as any of you that I needed to eat and drink. I could feel it, but I didn't speak up until we were on our way to the car. If it makes you feel better, I forgive you. But I promise you that I never blamed you. As for the car, don't be sorry. You were right. I'll never forget the way I felt yesterday, and even though I didn't hurt that girl, and everyone forgave me, it will always haunt me that I tried. I don't want to forget though - as long as I remember the way I felt, I think I'll be able to resist the temptation of human blood. I understand, now, Rosalie, what you tried to explain at the spa."

"I wish you hadn't had to find out that way."

"Me too, Rose, me too. But I did, and it's over now. The important thing is that we don't let it happen again, right?"

"Right," she said, a real smile finally coming to her lips.

"But Rose, there's something that I need you to understand too. Yesterday, I felt that monster, just like you told me I would. And it was sure as hell hard to fight it. I can promise you that I would have attacked that girl had Carmen not caught me. But she did. And her voice helped me fight it just hard enough to clear my vision. Once I could see that girl on the ground, I realized what I was doing. I realized that she was a person, someone who loved and who was loved by others, someone with hopes and dreams and a future. That knowledge, Rosalie? That was stronger than the bloodlust. It gave me the ability to walk away."

"You're so strong, Bella."

"So are you, Rosalie. That's what I wanted you to understand. The humanity that you've held on to, that's what makes you so strong. That's what makes you able to walk away from all the temptation, what has kept your record clean for over seventy years. Your humanity, Rose, is so much stronger than the monster. You carried Emmett, bleeding, for hundreds of miles, when you were barely out of your newborn phase, because the _woman_ in you wanted him alive. You see, Rose? Do you see how strong you are? You're my big sister, Rosalie, in a really unconventional way, mind you, but still. And yesterday, for the first time, I found a reason to look up to you."

I could see the venom glistening in her eyes as she leaned forward to encircle me with her arms. We hugged for a long time, and I could feel the shudders of her chest as she sobbed dryly against my body.

"Thank you, Bella. Esme was right about you after all... No one else has ever made me feel this way."

"You can pay me back later. I need you to take me somewhere after I get back from my talk with Jasper."

"Anywhere, sis."

Rosalie helped me do my hair after I got dressed, and then we went out to the kitchen together. Carlisle had already gotten breakfast for me - blueberry waffles, a scrambled egg, and orange slices - so I sat down to enjoy it. The whole family gathered at the dining room table, watching with amusement as I practically inhaled the food.

"Alright, guys, watch it while you can. This circus act will only be seen for another month or so," I said, rolling my eyes. I really didn't understand what was so fascinating about my waffles other than the fact that they were delicious despite being cooked by a vampire who hadn't eaten human food in over three centuries. They all laughed in response and I finished up my breakfast.

Once I was done, Jasper came behind me and wrapped his arm around my waist. "Wanna take a walk, Bells?"

"Let's go, Jas," I agreed.

I leaned over to kiss Carlisle good-bye, and he pressed his lips lightly against my own, and then bent down and placed two more kisses on my belly. When he righted himself, he cupped my cheek with his hand. "Be careful, sweetheart," he whispered. He then turned toward my brother. "Take care of my wife, Jasper."

"You know I will," Jasper answered. Then he blew a kiss to Alice and led me out the back door.

We walked through the backyard towards the woods, and was pleasantly surprised to see the tree swing back, hanging in its rightful place. Carlisle must have fixed it for me. I couldn't help the spike of lust that ran through me at the sight of it, and Jasper's snicker let me know that it did not pass unnoticed.

"Don't get any ideas, little sis. We are _not_ sittin' here to talk. Don't think I'll be sittin' here ever again, as a matter of fact," he said, mirth coloring his tone. He raised an eyebrow at me and shook his head, the smile still playing at his lips when he said the shade of my skin, surely crimson by now. "You sure are a naughty girl, Bells. You'll fit right in around here."

Despite my embarrassment, I couldn't help but laugh with him at that. I'm sure some psychoanalyst somewhere would kill to get their hands on our family.

Jasper led me on, past the end of the grass and into the trees, lifting me up and carrying me bridal style when he felt me tiring, until we finally came to a stop in the clearing by the river. He gestured for me to sit, and he sat as well, both of us leaning against a fallen tree.

"I think we should talk about yesterday, Bella," he began. "I know it was a really hard day for you."

"It was, Jas. It was awful. How do..." I stopped, not wanting to dredge up bad memories and make him feel badly.

"How do I deal with it?" He finished for me, gently. "It's impossible, Bells. Especially for me, since I _feel _everything that the victim feels as it's happenin'. It used to torture me, until Alice showed me that there was another way. And after that, the times I slipped up, it was almost worse than ever, because I knew I had a choice.

Whenever one of us slipped up in the past, the family would move away quickly thereafter so as not to be exposed. Carlisle would always be sure to gather information about the person who was killed, about their lives and their families, sometimes going so far as to record eulogies at their funeral once that technology was available... And then he'd make us listen to it, to see the effect that our actions had on others.

He didn't do this to punish us or to give us some elaborate guilt trip, though. He did it because he wanted to remind us why we don't feed from humans anymore. And it was so painful, Bella, to learn this lesson each time. But it wasn't until the day that I finally _felt_ it first hand - the day that I tried to attack you, and the months afterwards - that I finally understood for real. When we kill someone, we don't just destroy their lives, but every single life that they touch. It's a devastatin' effect.

Once I realized that, and really felt it, I never wanted to drink from a human again. Prior to that, I was merely tryin' to resist something that I wanted, something that I craved. But now, I'll admit, it smells good, but my desire to not be that monster ever again far outweighs any desire I might have for the blood."

"That's really something to be proud of, brother. After experiencing bloodlust for myself, I have even more respect for the efforts that you, and the rest of the family, have made."

"The good news, Bells, is that you fought it already. You felt that lust, and it threatened to take you over. But you fought it, and you won! Can you tell me how you did that?"

"Really, it was Carmen. She held onto me and talked to me until I could think again."

"What did you think about then?"

"I looked at the girl that I was trying to get to, and I saw that she was a person. And I realized that she had a family and dreams, and I couldn't be the one to end all of that."

"And then what?"

"I asked Carmen to get me out of there."

"Bella! That's amazin'! Don't you see? The credit is not to Carmen here. Yes, she was the gave you the moment you needed to pause, but you beat back your monster all on your own. And not out of obligation, but out of pure desire to not kill. You've already got the hard part down, little sister. I think you're gonna be just fine once you've been changed."

"You really think so, Jasper?" I whispered.

"I do, Bells. And I promise you, I'll be right there with you, makin' sure you don't forget it."

I leaned over and wrapped my arms around his waist, holding him close. He really did inspire me, just as much as Carlisle did. They were the two who had really had the most choice in the decision to become vegetarians, but both had done it, and that was admiral to me.

Jasper leaned down and placed a kiss on top of my head as he felt the love and pride I felt for him. "Thanks sis. I love you too."

When he loosened his grip on me, I leaned back and tilted my head up to look at his face. There I saw his wide smile, warm and joyous, and his eyes sparkling. I was so glad in that moment, to know that my words and emotions had affected him so much.

It was nearing noon, so Jasper picked me up again and jogged with me back to the house. Being the perfect husband that he is, Carlisle had lunch and a thermos ready for me, and it smelled delicious.

"Mmmm...Carlisle, what's for lunch?" I asked.

"Stir-fried chicken and vegetables with rice. And for desert? Elk."

I laughed at how ridiculous that sounded, but was actually quite pleased with his answer. True, elk was _not_ by any means my favorite - it actually smelled and tasted a little bit more like green beans than I would have preferred - but it did quench the thirst, which was the main purpose. I knew that I had to vary my intake, since I was feeding daily, or else the moose population of New England would decrease much to rapidly to go unnoticed.

"That sounds delicious, honey. Thank you," I said, giving my husband a grateful smile before sitting down to enjoy my meal.

When I was nearly done, Jasper started getting edgy. "Come on, guys," he said. "We better get out of range before Bella starts on her elk."

I rolled my eyes at him, even though I knew that he had a point. Carlisle and I really didn't have any control once I got my hands on a thermos.

"Actually, I was thinking that maybe you boys could go out for a hunt. Rosalie and I have plans after lunch, and I really don't have time to get waylaid this afternoon," I said.

"Waylaid?" Emmett mumbled. "The word you are looking for, baby Bells, is just 'laid'."

I shook my head as his booming laugh filled the room, followed by the laughter of the rest of the family, even my own.

"One day, Emmett, about a month from now, I'll be strong enough to kick your ass. You might want to think about that," I said in a pseudo-angry tone. Then I turned to where Jasper and Eleazar were standing. "You guys should get out of here. Take my husband with you. And hurry up, because I'm thirsty."

I could see the fire burning in Carlisle's eyes as he looked back at me. I couldn't blame him for being disappointed - our post-blood sexcapades were beyond words. I smiled at him, letting him know I understood, and his face softened, offering me a smile in return. With one last 'I love you', he walked out through the back door with the rest of the boys.

Once the boys were out of hearing distance, Alice asked me what my plans were.

"It's a surprise, Alice. Rose doesn't even know where she's taking me just yet."

"I hate surprises," Alice whined.

I knew that. But she needed to get used to it.

"Why don't you and Rose get going, querida?" Carmen suggested. "Alice and I can get started on the nursery while you are out."

Alice jumped up and down with excitement, lauding Carmen's idea, and then grabbed her arm and yanked her down the hall, my surprise all but forgotten. Rosalie turned back to me, a smile playing at her lips as she shook her head at Alice's antics. "Come on, Bells. We've got somewhere to be, right?"

"Right," I agreed, heading toward the garage.

Even as we drove into Boston, with Rosalie following my navigation, I refused to tell her where we were going. I was keeping this one close to the vest, as I didn't expect anyone to approve. But I was not going to be talked out of it. Last night I had hurt my husband by letting him think that there was any doubt in my mind that our love was forever. Today, I would show him that I believed in us, and that I knew I was his for eternity.

As we pulled up in front of a building in an area of town that Rosalie had most likely never seen, she looked at me with raised eyebrows. "What are we doing here, Bella?"

"Well, Rose, I was thinking last night. When I'm changed, my body will be frozen, unchanging, forever. I have all these scars on my body now, which will all disappear. Everything that makes me Bella the human will be gone once I'm Bella the vampire. Visually, at least. I fell in love with Carlisle as a human, and I want to take a bit of that with me. I love it when he leaves evidence of his love on my body, but I know he won't be able to do that anymore once I'm a vampire. That's why we're here. It'll work, won't it?"

"I can't promise you, but yeah, I think so."

"Good. Let's go inside. It's time that I was marked as Carlisle's forever."

"Oh god," Rosalie groaned as she got out of the car. "He is so going to kill me for this!"

We walked into the tattoo parlor together, with me squeezing her hand as I tried to shake off the last bit of nerves. I had plenty of reasons to be nervous, including the giant needle that would be in my skin very soon, and the fact that there would be fresh blood inside, and both Rose and I would have to deal with that until my ink was finished. That was the reason that I had scheduled this trip immediately after I had my drink - the less thirsty I was, the better.

"Are you sure about this, Bella?" Rose whispered.

"I'm sure I want to do it. I'm not sure I can handle it. I need you to help me Rose. You're the strongest woman I know, that's why I asked you to come here and help me. Can you?"

She grinned at me - perhaps the first time I've ever seen a real grin on my sister's beautiful face. "I can," was her response.

A few minutes later, I had chosen an artist - her name was Krista. Her hair was an inky blank with electric blue streaks throughout, and she wore a tank top, despite the fact that it was early November in Boston, and both of her arms were covered in tattoos, just like a shirt sleeve. I was initially intimidated by her, but she came right over to us and started chatting as if we had known each other for years. I think she could tell I was nervous, and did her best to calm me down. _Why didn't I bring Jasper?_

She finally got me into the chair, which reminded me menacingly of a dentist's chair, we started talking about what kind of tattoo I wanted.

"I want something that symbolizes forever, or eternal love, or something like that."

"What about a celtic knot? It's a knot with no end. We could shape it into a heart."

"That's perfect!" I squealed. "Can you write my husband's name inside of the heart?"

"I can do that," Krista replied, grinning.

I looked over at Rosalie, who was eyeing the design that Krista had quickly sketched out with intrigue. She caught my eye and nodded. "Ok, then, this is the one," I said.

"And where are we going to put it?"

I leaned back in the chair and lifted the hem of my shirt up a bit, and then lowered the waistband of my pants. I gestured to an area of soft skin just above my hip bone.

"Alright, then, Bella. Let's get started!" Krista said enthusiastically, rising from her seat to gather the supplies she would need.

At first, it was awful. Mostly because I was terrified. I tensed up every muscle in my body and gritted my teeth as Krista pressed the needle against my skin for the first time. But it didn't take too long to realize that I'd been in much worse pain before, and as long as I could concentrate on something else, it wasn't so bad.

"Tell me a story, Rose. Tell me something funny about the family."

"Um, ok... You want to hear about the Denali sisters back in the eighties?"

I had to concentrate hard in that moment to keep from letting loose a big belly laugh, not wanting to destroy the design of my tattoo. I wasn't sure if I could handle this one. "Will this be a dangerous story to hear right now?"

"No, no, it will be fine!" Rosalie reassured. So I sat back to listen.

An hour and a half later, with only four really close calls, my tattoo was finished. Rosalie's story had been downright hilarious.

She told me about Tanya, who had a penchant for copying Madonna's fashions, especially when Edward was around. She promised to show me a picture of Tanya wearing a white lingerie-style dress with lace gloves, lots of heavy necklaces, and a belt that said 'Boy Toy' on the buckle when we got home. Even without having seen the picture yet, I couldn't believe that Tanya had ever thought dressing like _that_ would win Edward over!

Irina, on the other hand, was best known for attempting to use the slang words of the era. Badly. This wasn't a huge surprise to me, as I vividly recalled my conversation with her at my bridal shower, when, in her attempt to say she wanted our relationship to have a fresh start, she said she wanted us to start off with clean feet. Rosalie's favorite example of Irina's slang butchery was when she told Eleazar to "lick her panties" (her interpretation of "eat my shorts"). My favorite part of that story was that Carmen didn't realize Irina's mistake, assumed she was making an innuendo, and promptly kicked Irina's ass. I suppose it was wrong of me to like that so much, seeing as how we had our clean feet and all, but still...

Rose's story about Kate was about her obsession with Harrison Ford in the 1980s. She had seen him in Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and decided that he was perfect. She had to have him. For three years, she basically hunted him down. She finally caught up with him in 1982 when she found out that he was going to be in Northern Oregon, and went to his location. Needless to say, she used all her powers as a succubus to lure him into bed. According to my sister, Kate has considered that conquest her crowning glory, and had not allowed her sisters to forget her 'ultimate score'. They, on the other hand, would not let her forget that he married Melissa Mathison a year after bedding Kate, thus implying that she must not have been as impressive as she liked to think. After an argument on this topic in 1985 ended with a pile of rubble where the Denali clan's living room once stood, Eleazar banned any Harrison Ford film from entering their house.

Rosalie and I sat laughing like crazy while Krista worked, barely noticing the sweet scent of my blood or the slight tinge of pain I felt from the needles. I could only imagine what my artist was thinking about our cousins, but Rose was careful not to say anything that could give away our secret.

After an hour and a half of hilarity, Krista pronounced her work completed, and Rose and I admired it. I was given all the instructions for proper care of the wound, paid, and then we made our way back to Hanover. I thanked Rose over and over as we drove home for coming with me and helping me to cope. She said I could pay her back by providing her with details of Carlisle's reaction once he saw my ink. I was pretty excited to see that reaction myself.

**A/N: Ok, hope that tickled your fancy. How do you think Carlisle will react? Did you like the stories of the Denali girls?**

**Next chapter is going to have a bit more pregnancy development, as well as an important development you've been waiting awhile for. If you'd like a preview, send me a review! Previews will be out quickly this week, I promise!**


	32. 31 Moved

**A/N: Thanks for your comments on the last chapter. I love them as usual, and they really do brighten my day when I read them. **

**Check out the Twilighter's Choice Awards Review Challenge, going on all this week (10/1-10/7). It's a great chance to up your review count and that of your favorite stories! There's a link on my profile page. **

**You all have Seraphina Cullen to thank for my getting this chapter our early. She tempted me with an offer I couldn't refuse. ;)**

**Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. **

Chapter 31: Moved

CPOV

The boys and I got home late in the evening from our hunt, having ventured out a bit further than usual to catch some bigger game. When we entered the house, the girls let me know that Bella had already gone to bed for the evening. I quickly bid them all good night and rushed back to the bedroom I shared with my wife.

When I entered the room, I was immediately assaulted with a scent I knew well: Bella's blood. What I smelled, though, was not the scent of her blood as it coursed through her veins. What I smelled was not contained. I could tell there wasn't much of it, but it was clear to me that she had a fresh wound somewhere. I was worried - was she hurt? I made my way over to the bed and sat down beside her, careful not to disturb her. I inhaled again, next to her, and confirmed my belief that there was a recent insult to her skin. But there was another unfamiliar scent present on my wife. Was that...ink? Why on earth would my wife smell like... _Oh my god. She didn't!_

"Bella," I called softly as I nudged her sleeping form. "Sweetheart? Wake up please."

She whimpered quietly, evidently not appreciating my late night wake up call. Usually, I would leave her sleeping, but I had serious doubts in regards to my ability to wait until morning to get the answer to my question.

I rubbed her back firmly, calling to her once again, and finally found my desired results.

"Carlisle?" She asked, sleep thickening her voice. "What is it honey?"

"Bella, I smelled blood when I came in. I wanted to be sure you are alright."

"Oh. I'm fine, honey," she said before turning her face back toward the pillow.

_No, baby. Not tonight. Please don't be too tired right now!_

"Sweetheart? Is there nothing you wish to tell me? Or, perhaps, _show_ me?"

She turned her head back toward me quickly, surprise in her eyes. Then she made a face that was half smile, half frown. "Damn vampires..." she mumbled. I couldn't help but chuckle. "It was supposed to be a surprise," she said. "But I forgot to factor in your super-strong olfactory powers."

I grinned at her. "I _am_ still surprised, despite having discovered the secret on my own. Now, are you going to show me?"

She sat up in the bed, and her tank top, already tight around the middle thanks to her expanding belly, revealed just enough of her soft, porcelain skin to let me know where to look.

"I think this would be better if you lie back down," I suggested. She did as I asked. I slowly untied the ribbon holding the waistband of her silk pants, and lowered it to her hips. And there it was.

_Oh my... Holy shit! That. Is. My. Name!_

_She marked herself. With. My. Name!_

_My name would be on her. Forever. She was mine, forever._

I could not contain the purr that built in my chest.

I very lightly traced the heart with my index finger, careful not to press hard on it, but allowing my coolness to soothe her skin. I immediately recognized that the heart was made out of a series of Celtic knots, and the symbolism was not lost on me.

"Bella? Why did you do this?"

"Do you not like it?" She asked, sounding worried.

"I didn't say that. I am simply asking you why you made the decision to mark yourself in this way." She looked down, as if she was ashamed. I used my finger to tilt her chin up, so that she was once again looking at me. "Don't look away, sweetheart. I promise you, I am the opposite of unhappy about this."

She smiled. "I wanted to show you that I had no question in my mind that our love is eternal. That was part of it. But there was more to it than that. My skin won;t be markable soon, and I've seen your face when you catch a glimpse of a mark you made on me - I know that it speaks to your basic vampire instinct to claim your mate."

I looked down in shame. I didn't want her to think of me as some sort of caveman. Though I could not deny that she spoke the truth, I still wished that she had not noticed that about me.

"Carlisle," she said sternly. "Don't you be embarrassed about that! Don't you understand? I saw that in you, and chose to mark myself with your name for eternity. And why? Because it has got to be the sexiest thing I have ever seen when you look at me that way."

Bella sat up, suddenly wide awake, and swung her leg over my lap so that she straddled me. As she did, I caught the scent of her arousal in the air, causing my already erect length to grow even harder. I groaned.

"You know," she whispered huskily, "My panties get wet just thinking of the way you look when you get possessive. Mmmmm...."

_Oh hell... If that's what she wants!_

"Does it, now?" I growled.

"God yes," she breathed, her eyes rolling back in her head.

Without even thinking, I lifted her up and flipped her over, so that she laid on her back in the center of our bed. I grabbed the hem of her pants and pulled them down roughly, the silk tearing under my fingertips, and casted them aside. I removed all of my own clothing at vampire speed and then crawled up in the bed over her. I could feel that my eyes had gone completely black, but I could taste the scent of Bella's arousal all around me, and her eyes betrayed no fear - only lust.

I lifted her up, and quickly removed her shirt and bra, leaving her in only a tiny pair of red lace panties, otherwise exposed to me. Looking down at her tattoo, I was overcome once again with lust and love for my wife. I leaned down over her, and let my tongue slide out from between my parted lips, tracing over the design on her hip. Her breath hitched and she panted my name as if it were a prayer. I knew that the feeling of my tongue on her sensitive skin must have been tremendous. When I reached the end of the e in my name, I lifted my mouth a mere centimeter off of her skin and whispered "mine", letting my cool breath wash over her tender skin. She shivered, delighting me.

I crawled up her body until I was level with her face. "You didn't have to do this for me, Bella. But thank you, you little vixen. Thank you. Now let me show you my gratitude."

With that, I took the red lace in one hand and ripped in right from her body, then dove into her glistening folds. "Mmmm..." I breathed against her wet lips. "So wet for me already?"

"Always for you, honey, always... Oh God!" she cried out as my tongue invaded her depths.

I growled against her sex, letting the vibrations tickle and tease her as my tongue thrusted into her over and over. Her taste was so incredible that it was nearly obscene. And it was mine. Bringing a hand up to her, I began to tease her clit.

"Ooohhhhh... Carlisle!.... Oh shit! Aaaahhhh!"

Bella's cries were quickly becoming incoherent as I brought her closer and closer to her climax.

"That's right, baby. Let yourself go. I want you to come on my tongue. I want to taste that sweet nectar that is only mine to have!"

Bella groaned erotically, and I resumed my ministrations. It took only seconds more before I her thighs jerked and began squeezing my head. Her back arched up off the bed as she cried out my name, and I moaned in pleasure as I lapped up everything that her body offered me.

Spent, she fell back down against the mattress, panting. I raised up so that my weight rested on my knees, and looked down at her, licking my lips once I caught her eye, enjoying the last vestiges of her taste there. _Delicious._

"I want you, Isabella," I said throatily. "I want you right now."

"Take me then, Carlisle. I'm yours."

"Yes, you are," I said, smirking, as I positioned myself at her entrance.

"Mine," I growled as I pushed myself into her heat. We both groaned at the intensity of the joining. I quickly set up a rhythm that was a bit faster than usual, and my thrusts were a bit harder. Bella's noises told me that she was enjoying it, so I was not worried. Instead, I let myself get lost in the pleasure, focusing on the feeling of _her_ wrapped around my cock. _So damn good._

As I moved in and out of her, I kept my eyes on the tattoo - my mark, that would stay on her forever. It's location meant only I would see it, unless she wore a bikini, but that was just fine with me. But for now, while her skin was still soft and pliable, I decided to put a few more of my marks on her, where they _could_ be seen. I suckled her neck and collarbone, and up behind her ear, marking her as mine in each place. Bella moaned and sighed each time.

"Feels...so good...honey...ugh..." she breathed.

"Who makes you feel this way, baby?" I demanded, adding in the authoritative tone that had affected her so much the day before.

"Oh god...You, Carlisle...only you."

"That's right baby...aahhhhh...Oh, Bella....I love the way it feels...buried inside you...This is my place..."

"Yours, honey....always yours...only yours...mmmmm..."

I could tell by the way she was gripping the sheets that she was close, but I wanted to take her to another level still. I grabbed her left leg and lifted it up, placing her foot over my shoulder. This lifted her ass up a bit, giving me a whole new angle into her. I was rewarded for my efforts by a deepening moan from my wife. I threw my own head back in pleasure. I wanted to push into her even harder, but I feared for her safety if I did. Already the bed was moving with the force of my efforts. I chanted inside my head with each thrust, trying to keep in control. _Careful, Carlisle! Don't. Break. Bed. Don't. Break. Wife._

A few moments later, I was teetering precariously on the edge. "Baby...ugh...so close..." I grunted.

"Me too...mmmmm....me too...cumming...now..."

Bella let go, her walls clenching tightly around me, and pulled me over the edge with her. I came hard, pouring myself into her, and roared, the noise sounding more feral than human, as she screamed my name. I thrust a few more times, riding the wave of pleasure until it crashed, and then fell to the bed beside her, both of us panting, Bella's heart racing.

"Incredible..." she breathed.

"I couldn't agree more," I whispered as I rolled onto my side and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her back up against my chest.

A minute later, she was fast asleep, and I closed my eyes for the night as well.

The next morning, as Bella awoke in my arms, I pressed butterfly kisses all over her shoulder blades. "Good morning, my love," I whispered beside her ear.

"Mmmmm....good morning to you to, husband."

"Are you alright, Bella?" I asked, worried that I may have hurt her last night.

"A little sore, honestly, but nothing more than I can handle. I think I need some blood, though, and soon."

"That's not a problem, sweetheart. We'll get it for you right away." I sat up in the bed, and then leaned over her to press two kisses against her swollen belly. "Good morning, children."

That's when I felt it - such a slight flutter than I nearly missed it.

She looked up at me with eyes full of wonder, and the joy I was feeling was immeasurable.

"Bella, did you feel that?" She nodded, grinning. I placed my hands over her stomach, and spoke to it once again. "Babies? It's Papa. Can you hear me?"

Two more kicks, from two different spots, one higher up in the abdomen than the other.

"Bella! Sweetheart, they can hear us!"

I looked up at my wife, who had tears flowing freely from her eyes and a beautiful smile on her face. She reached down and covered my hands with hers, squeezing them gently.

"This makes it so much more real," she whispered, leaning up and kissing me softly. "We should think about naming them."

"I agree. I've been thinking about that, actually. What would you say to making their names a tribute to Edward and Esme?" I asked.

"I was thinking the same thing, actually. But I really don't want to use their names as the babies' names, that would be too weird. I thought maybe as the middle name. What do you think?"

"That's perfect," I agreed, kissing her. "Have you thought of any names you might like?"

"Well, for the girl, I thought Carlie would make a nice name."

Luckily, I heard the teasing in her voice. I stuck my tongue out at her and cringed. "How long have you been waiting to use that one? Absolutely not! Anything but that."

I should have known better than to say 'anything'.

"Alright, then, how about Buffy?" She asked.

I looked her in the eye, searching for a sign that she wasn't serious. There was none.

"Bella, please tell me you are teasing me again. We cannot possibly name our child after a fictional character who kills vampires."

Finally, unable to stand it anymore, Bella dissolved into giggles. _Thank god!_

"You _did_ say anything, Carlisle. I just wanted to remind you to watch your words."

"Yes, yes. That's true. What about Elizabeth?"

"Hmm...Not bad. What about Peter for the boy?"

"I like Peter, though we do already have a Peter close to the family."

"Carlisle, when you were human, did you ever think about having children?"

"Yes, of course."

"What names did you like then?"

"I liked Emmeline for a girl, as I remember, and, conveniently enough, Edward had been my top choice for naming a son, if I were to have had one." We both smiled at the memory.

We discussed our ideas for names a bit more, finally coming up with a few choices that we both really liked. We talked a bit more about the progress of the pregnancy so far as well. By my best guess, Bella was more than halfway through the pregnancy now, and had approximately six weeks left before the twins would be born. She admitted that she was feeling very tired already, and the food and blood cravings were increasing as well. In fact, she requested blueberry pancakes and a peanut butter and banana smoothie for breakfast this morning. It seemed an odd combination, in my opinion, but I would, of course, give her what she asked for. Who was I to determine what foods worked well together, after all, I thought they all tasted like dirt.

Finally, we got to the one part of the conversation that I had been anticipating and dreading since the pregnancy was discovered.

"Honey? I really want to tell Charlie about the babies."

My dead heart broke a little for her just then. I knew, and truly, I understood her desire in this case. But how in the hell could we tell Charlie? I swore to him that I would not make love to his daughter until our wedding night, which occurred a mere three months ago. Bella currently looks about six months pregnant, and will deliver twins in less than two months. How could I explain that to him? Not to mention the extreme probability that our children will have a proclivity for drinking blood.

At the same time, though, Bella never asks me for anything. How can I deny her the only thing that she wants?

"Oh, sweetheart, I do too. I promise you, if I can think of a way to make it possible, we will tell him. I don't want you to lose Charlie, but you must know, sweetheart, that this is quite obviously a tenuous situation."

"I do, Carlisle. I know. And I'll understand if we can't tell them. I just hate to think that I won't be at his wedding, and I'll never have that last chance to say goodbye to him. I thought I had more time..." Her words trailed off as they were covered by her tears. I promised myself at that moment that I _would_ find a way.

Finally, Bella couldn't wait any longer to eat, so we dressed and made our way to the common area of the house. When we entered the living room, a strange sight met our eyes. The rest of our family members were sitting in the room, paired off into couples, which wasn't unusual. The odd part was that each couple was sitting in a way that oriented them away from the others, and no one seemed to be speaking to anyone but their partner. Typically, the whole family was involved in some sort of boisterous conversation when we entered the room in the morning, so this was strange in and of itself.

But it was no match to the condition of the room. The couch was broken in half, one side completely overturned. One of the armchairs was lying in pieces on the floor, resembling kindling more than furniture. One of the large windows facing the backyard was shattered, and the table that usually stood before it had a large hole, which seemed to be shaped like a shoe print, directly in it's center. Broken glass and wood shavings covered the carpet, as did what appeared to be tiny bits of fabric.

"What happened in here?" I demanded, irritated, since I assumed that it was, like so many other occasions in the past, the aftermath of a fight over some xbox game or another.

"Fuck you, Carlisle," Jasper said angrily.

"Don't you dare talk to him that way!" Bella yelled. It seemed that, for the first time, she was truly stepping into her role as the mother of the household.

"You shut up too, Bells. This is all your fault," Emmett declared.

"Will someone just tell me what the hell happened to my house?" I asked, throwing my hands up in the air.

"You and Bella happened," replied Alice. "And since it was Bella, I couldn't See it in time to stop it."

"Carlisle and I were in the bedroom all night," Bella interrupted, obviously not understanding how we could be to blame for a mess in a room we were not in.

"And that's exactly the problem," said Emmett.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"You two put out the strongest fuckin' lust last night - there was no stoppin' it! I couldn't handle it, and things got out of control....fast." Jasper explained.

"So what happened exactly?" Bella asked, sounding unsure.

"I Saw what was going to happen, but it was too late. I tried to stop it by grabbing Jazzy and running outside. In my hurry, we took a shortcut," Alice said, gesturing toward the broken window. "We only made it to the backyard though, before Jazzy couldn't take it anymore..."

"After they left, though, the heaviness of the lust was still in the room, and we had all already been affected so strongly," Eleazar explained. "I'm sorry about the chair, Carlisle."

I nearly laughed as I saw how ashamed my old friend appeared.

"Yeah, Carlisle. Rosie and I are sorry about the couch too..." Emmett said.

It was strange, I'd never seen Emmett anything less than pleased with himself regarding his sexual exploits. It took me a moment to understand what had him, and all of them, so uncomfortable. Then I realized it - none of them had made it more than a few yards away from the others before the lust overcame them.

"So, basically, what you are telling me is that you had a massive vampire sex party in my living room last night?"

"Si, that about covers it," mumbled Carmen.

I took one look at Bella, and the two of us collapsed on the floor, laughing hysterically. Once we had calmed ourselves down a bit, I instructed the girls to use the morning to shop for new furniture while the boys fixed the window. Bella and I both offered our apologies to the family for causing such a disaster, however unintentionally. Then I led her into the kitchen so that I could feed her.

As I prepared her breakfast and she drank a thermos of elk, I contemplated why last night had been so much more of a problem for Jasper than usual, but I really had no idea. I wondered if it might have something to do with one of the babies - it seemed they had made a big jump in their development overnight, so perhaps they were developing a gift of some sort? I was certainly curious as to the mystery my children presented.

I spent much of the rest of the day helping put the house back in order, trying to convince the rest of the family to feel comfortable together despite the indecent exposure of the previous evening, and doing my best to discover a way to give Bella her wish to keep her father in her life. That last one was certainly the hardest, but luck was on my side when we received a phone call that afternoon from my father-in-law himself, inviting us to Forks for his wedding. It was at that moment that the idea came to me. I could only hope that it wouldn't kill him.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that. Thanks to my girl ItHappened, I was in a rather silly mood while writing this chapter. I think it shows. **

**So what did you think of the chapter? Next one has some majorly important conversations, if you want a preview, send me a review!**


	33. 32 Telling Stories

**A/N: I am not Stephenie Meyer. You can probably tell this by my well developed secondary characters...LOL **

**Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. I'm glad you enjoyed the craziness that occurred in the Cullen living room. A few people suggested that scene be made into an outtake, and I wanted to let you know I am considering that, but I probably won't get around to it until this story is done. We'll see.**

**I also wanted to let you know that I finally decided to jump on the damn bandwagon and join twitter. You can follow me there if you'd like, it's mrsalreyami (of course). **

**Now, on with the story!**

Chapter 32: Telling Stories

AroPOV

I was so pleased to hear that Liam had come to visit us tonight. I always did enjoy when he called on my brothers and me. Though not a nomad, Liam was well-traveled due to his business dealings, and always came to us with the most interesting stories. Once the initial greetings had been made, I settled into my throne to hear what tales he might regale us with tonight.

His stories started off slow. He told us of a group of Frenchmen he hunted during his visit to Cannes for the annual film festival, and about the vampire he met in Switzerland, who claimed to have been sired by, and escaped from, one of the powerful vampires in the south of America. But then, he came to a story that caught my full attention. The story was about my old friend, Carlisle Cullen.

"I traveled to America several months ago to attend the wedding of Carlisle Cullen. He has been a friend of my mate for centuries. I thought it odd that he would have a wedding, after all, we are vampires, not humans, but I remembered that his coven prefers to live alongside humans and in a manner similar to them, so I went along anyway. Imagine my surprise when I saw that he was marrying a human! A beautiful one she is, though."

"That she is, Liam. I have had the privilege to meet Bella myself. Tell us about the wedding," I encouraged.

"Yes, tell us, Liam," Caius added with a snide tone. He obviously did not approve of the union. Caius had always been obsessed with rules and order. He was not one to take into account the entire situation, thus he failed to see the benefit of the Cullen's maintained closeness with the girl who I was sure would be a magnificent, and quite powerful, vampire.

A glance toward my brother Marcus left me surprised to find him appearing interested in what Liam had to say as well. When I had first given him the news of our old friend's plans for matrimony, he had been extremely surprised, letting me know that he was shocked that Bella could form a bond with another after he himself had attested to the strength of her relationship with Edward. I knew that Marcus was actually looking forward to our meeting with the couple once Bella was changed so that he could see the bond she and Carlisle shared for himself. I chuckled to myself at Marcus's attention - he so rarely found anything in this existence worth attending to.

Liam continued to tell us the tale of the wedding, which he claimed was a most beautiful ceremony.

"I hold so much love for my old friend, but was unable to attend dear Carlisle's wedding myself. Would you mind...?" I asked, gesturing to his hand to imply that I desired to read his thoughts to see the wedding for myself. I knew that Bella was beautiful on a regular day - I could only imagine she'd been particularly stunning in a wedding gown. And dear Carlisle - how pleasant it would be to see his happiness for myself!

Liam agreed, and walked toward me, stopping next to my throne and raising his palm to touch my own. Thousands of images immediately flew through my mind, and I sorted through them like a microfiche machine, passing rapidly the ones that did not interest me. Finally, I found the object of my desire - Liam's arrival in Washington.

I saw him exit the plane with his mate, the stately Siobhan, as well as the tiny redhead, Maggie. I remembered that her ability was to discern truth from falsehood... A useful gift, to be sure. I watched as the three ran through the forest toward Carlisle's home. At one point, Liam's thoughts reflected an appealing scent a mile or so off to the east, but he silently reminded himself of the promise not to hunt in the state, and thus continued to run.

Using my gift again, I sped through his memories a bit, until I finally saw the smiling face of my old friend, his arm securely wrapped around his fiancee, welcoming Liam, Siobhan, and Maggie into his home. I watched as he introduced the visitors to the rest of his family and the other guests present, and invited them to take a seat. Then the scene took a strange turn, and I watched in earnest as Carlisle made something of a speech to his guests.

_"I want to thank all of you for coming to celebrate this joyous occasion with my family and me. I do appreciate your agreeing to not hunt in the state of Washington during your stay. To make you more comfortable, I have procured several bags of donated blood from the hospital that you are welcome to use as snacks. There is one other issue which I must address. In this area, we are not the only supernatural beings. There is a pack of werewolves on the reservation near here with which we have held a treaty for several generations. According to the treaty, we may not cross onto their land, nor may we bite a human. Our relationship with the wolves is __now one of mutual respect, and you will see them at our wedding as well. I am asking you now to please show them respect when they are around, as they have most certainly earned it from us."_

I was certainly surprised by this bit of information. Carlisle had never told me about wolves - and how could it be that the children of the moon were accepting of vampires?

I saw through Liam's thoughts that he was not entirely thrilled by Carlisle's insistence that the vampires treat the dogs respectfully. I could not say I blamed him. Especially when I smelled them in his memories. _Awful. _They smelled like wet dog, but altogether too strong of a scent. I noticed, however, that the scent was not as I remembered from the children of the moon. Intriguing...

I passed through the next bits of Liam's memories, not interested in the mundane passing of time before the day of the wedding, until finally I saw Carlisle standing under an arch wearing a tuxedo. _How handsome my dear old friend looks. And how happy as well._ The look on his face reminded me of the day that I visited his house in Hanover - the day that I learned of his feelings for Bella. On that day, I was not yet aware if she returned his feelings, but I had so much hope for their happiness together. And now, to be able to see it happen - it was thrilling!

I could see the wedding guests were all assembled - vampires, humans, and wolves, all gathered together for this day of joy. Amazing. I knew without a doubt that this was due to Carlisle - only such a man as he could find a way to bring all these groups together peacefully. I had so hoped years ago that I could convince him to stay with us - to become the fourth leader of the Volturi - but he maintained that it was not his desire to rule. A pity, really.

Finally, I heard the music begin, and Carlisle's daughters - the beauty and the psychic - walked down the aisle in gold silk, followed by Bella and a man I assumed was her father. She was stunning - there was no other word to describe her. I had no doubt, upon seeing her in her wedding gown, that, once changed, she would certainly rival, if not outshine, Rosalie and even our own Heidi.

The ceremony progressed, and I watched and listened as Eleazar, our former companion, made a reading, as well as a human women. The minister spoke beautifully as well, and finally the time came for the couple to state their promises. I listened intently as my old friend made his first:

_With you by my side, I have found excitement and joy in life, I have found enjoyment in things I had previously overlooked. In you, I have found the greatest treasure, my own piece of heaven. But above all else, I have found peace and hope and a reason to exist. You have made me happier than any one man deserves to be._

_For all this, I asked you to be my wife. In return, I make you these promises:_

_I will stand by your side for eternity, never wavering in my love for you. In times of both ease and hardship, you will find me your constant companion, your support, your partner. I will care for you and protect you from any danger that comes our way. I will love and cherish you with tenderness and undying devotion. I will never fail to treat you with respect. You will hear only honest words from me, and I will always give you my trust, as well as reason to trust me. As time passes us by, you will find me always true to the commitment I make to you today, for there is none other for me but you. On this day, I promise you, Bella, that as long as I exist, I will love you, and I will be yours."_

As I listened to the words he spoke, it was clear without a doubt that he meant each one. The man that I saw through Liam's memories was, unquestionably, extremely happy. Bella brought him to life, that much was clear - he looked much younger and more inspired in this memory than he had in Hanover. It pleased me immensely to see my old friend, once so haunted and pained, truly joyous.

Bella was the next to state her vows to Carlisle:

_You are handsome, kind, gentle, compassionate, intelligent and romantic. Standing next to you, I know that I am exactly where I was meant to be._

_For all that you give to me in your love, I make these promises to you:_

_I will be your wife, your friend, forever. I will honor and respect you, cherish and love you. I will listen to you when you speak and share my thoughts with you as well. I will be patient and understanding. I will face every challenge that comes before us standing beside you. I will never fail you, never lie to you, never harm you, never dishonor you, never betray you. I will give you every bit of myself while not losing who the essence of who I am. I will make our home a place of peace, and I will find my home wherever you are. I will always be there to comfort you and to love you. On this day, Carlisle, I give you my heart, my life, my love, forever."_

Bella's voice was shaky as she recited the words, and filled with emotion. This human never failed to amaze me - she had more capacity for deep feelings than any human, and even most vampires, that I had ever known. She was a treasure, and even though she had denied me many times, I had great hopes that one day she would join us, bringing my dear old friend back to me as well.

Finally, the minister spoke once more: _At this moment, the sun sets on your past, and brings in the dawn of a new life for you. As you stand there together with love in your eyes, know that tomorrow can bring you the greatest of joys, but today is the day it all begins. _They were then pronounced husband and wife, and, through Liam's eyes, I watched as he kissed her with a tender passion that I had rarely seen demonstrated by a vampire. It was such an intimate gesture, despite it's only being a kiss, that I felt the need to turn away from the image.

I released Liam's hand and thanked him profusely for sharing his memories with me, so pleased was I to have been witness to the true happiness of my old companion. I may not choose to follow the same path as he does, but I continue to have only the greatest respect for him. I relayed to my brothers what I had seen, assuring Marcus that he would be most pleased upon our visit next fall, for certainly the couple that I had just witnessed shared a bond of immense proportion.

Liam sat with us for awhile longer, as we discussed other locations to which he had ventured, as well as the most recent news of our world, and then he took his leave of us, promising to return in the future. I had enjoyed his visit, to be certain, but I was ready for him to leave. There were issues that I wished to ponder privately.

CaiusPOV

I sat in my study for hours after Liam left us, appalled and infuriated with Aro. I was humiliated in front of our guest to be associated with such a ridiculous idiot! Childish imbecile that he is, he was absolutely thrilled to hear of Carlisle's wedding to the human, begging to have a glimpse of it in Liam's mind, as well as the freak's affiliation with the children of the moon. How dare Carlisle not only make peaceful treaties with, but go so far as to invite into his home, our sworn enemies?! And where had these creatures come from? I was sure that I had eradicated all those vile dogs centuries ago! I had nearly lost my life in the process, in fact, but such is the risk that a good leader is willing to take for his people.

I would just have to add Carlisle's filthy pets to the list of problems that I would be taking care of soon.

The rest of Liam's visit was worthless, so I spent it planning my attack on Aro rather than listening to his drabble. And plan I had. In fact, I was convinced that I had finally come upon the perfect plan. I needed only check with Igor, my master strategist, to be sure that there was nothing I had failed to consider. I doubted it, though. My plan, I was sure, was foolproof.

The beauty of the plan was it's simplicity. Chelsea, for all her bitching and annoying behavior, had at least been useful in helping me put together an army that I was certain was unbeatable. Certainly, the vampires that we gathered were the key to my success. And in return, I would allow them to stay on as my loyal staff once I disposed of the imbecile and named myself emperor.

For the plan, I would need a mere four of my soldiers: Chelsea, Felix, Afton, and Akiko. I would have to bring Akiko into the castle under some pretense. Perhaps I would instruct Chelsea and Felix to bring her in under the guise of having brought her to join the Volturi guard. I would need to position her in the storage room between my study and Aro's. Once he was securely in his study, Akiko could use her power to blind him. At that point, Afton could sneak into the room, not attracting attention since he has no scent, and rip off Aro's head and throw him into a fire. He could sneak out again, and none would be the wiser of his actions, since there would be no proof that he had been in the room. Chelsea and Felix, being long-standing members of the guard, could provide alibis for both Afton and Akiko, and our involvement would never be known.

Like I said, foolproof.

We would wait for Sulpicia to find her husband's ashes, and then I, as the only competent member left of the ruling family, would kindly accept the responsibility of leading the vampire world. Perfect.

It was nearly sunrise, and I was just preparing to call Chelsea and arrange a meeting when a knock at my door interrupted me. I called for the knocker to enter, noting the scent with displeasure as belonging to Aro himself.

I really didn't have time for his antics right now.

I sighed as I prepared myself for an onslaught of stupidity.

Aro floated into my study, and chose a seat opposite me at my desk. "Buona notte, brother. Liam's tales were quite interesting tonight, don't you think?"

CarlislePOV

I was sitting in my newly-refurnished living room with my family, sitting on the sofa beside Bella, watching a movie. It had been a nice afternoon, the family now seemingly recovered from the discomfort of the day before. Fixing the family had been slightly harder than fixing the house had been. The problem was not anger, but embarrassment, and I could not tell you on whose part is was the worst – everyone was certainly feeling a bit of it. I had to set aside those feelings, however, for the sake of my family, and force everyone to sit and talk and get over themselves. As it turned out, no one really saw much of the others because they had been too caught up in the lust to be observant. That fact, and perhaps that fact alone, had been the saving grace. We spent the morning fixing the house, the afternoon playing games, and the evening sitting together in front of the big screen.

Bella had fallen asleep at some point during the film, stretched out on the sofa with her head in my lap and my fingers combing through her hair.

When the movie ended, Carmen turned toward me. "How is Bella feeling, Carlisle?" She asked in a concerned voice.

"She says that she's fine, but I can see, and smell, for that matter, that she's becoming anemic. She's been asking for blood more often – I think that the babies' growth is taking a toll on her body. She won't complain, though, you know how she is," I replied.

"We can hunt more often, then," answered Emmett. "Jazz and I can run up to the Adirondacks again and find some carnivores. Would that help?"  
"Actually, yes, It would. But find her a moose for the morning, if possible, before you leave. It's her favorite." I smiled down at my wife, still sleeping peacefully. It seemed humorous that she had a favorite flavor of blood, yet could still do something as human as sleeping. Always the enigma, my Bella was.

"She's been more tired too, Carlisle," Jasper added. "She's been trying to hide it, but I can feel it from her. I know we all want time with her and we've been trying to help her make the most of her human time left, but we're going to have to give her a bit of a break. Half days only, I think. The blood helps, for sure, but she needs more rest."

He looked pointedly at me as he said that. I didn't have to ask why. I nodded my head at him, letting him know I understood.

"We were talking about names earlier," I mentioned, smiling at the memory of Bella teasing me by suggesting awful names.

"Come up with anything good?" Alice asked. "I hate not being able to See!"

"A few," I said. We _had _thought of one or two that we liked, but I wasn't sure anything had really stuck just yet.

"Can I suggest one?" asked Rosalie.

"Of course."  
"What about Anne? After mom." She said it in a hushed tone, almost as if she were afraid of my reaction.

"It's a good idea, Rose," I agreed. "Bella and I both want to honor Esme and Edward with the babies' names. We had planned on doing so with the middle name, but I like your idea. I'll mention it to Bella in the morning."

"Carlie would make a nice name," Eleazar said, obviously trying to hold in a smile. _Asshole. _I glared back at him.

"Actually, that's a good one, dad. It's kind of like a combination of your name and her dad's," Emmett said thoughtfully. He didn't know the story behind my problem with the name.

"I think it might be too confusing to have two such similar names in the house," I said, trying to close the subject. "Besides," I added, speaking to Bella's belly, "You want your own special name, not part of papa's, right?"

The baby kicked in response. The other vampires in the room gasped collectively as their enhanced vision caught the movement.

"Did the baby just... _answer_?" Carmen asked.

"Yes, and not for the first time," I replied, grinning. Jasper gave me a knowing smile, obviously enjoying my burst of fatherly pride.

"Bet that freaks you out when you're going at it with Bella..." Emmett said, almost to himself. Apparently he was no longer embarrassed about the night before.

I didn't answer, but I had to admit that his words caught me off guard. I hadn't even thought about _that_. _Oh god._

_Thanks, Emmett. NOW it freaks me out._

"I think I'm going to take Bella up to bed now. I don't want her to be uncomfortable. Are you all going to go out for a hunt now?"

"We are," answered Eleazar. The others nodded in agreement.

"Oh, while I'm thinking about it, Alice, have you checked on Aro lately?" I had asked Alice to keep an eye on Aro ever since we discovered Bella's pregnancy. It was a precaution, our way of being extra careful after Elly had told me of his concerns.

"Not for a few days, actually," she replied. "Let me check now."

She closed her eyes, letting herself get lost in the vision. We waited for a moment, and I watched as her brow furrowed. She shook her head twice, as if trying to clear it of a stray thought. Once agin, we waited. Finally, Alice opened her eyes and looked over at me.

"Carlisle? Aro's disappeared. I can't see his future at all."

**A/N: Yes, I left you with another cliffie. You know you love them. Where has Aro's future gone? **

**You should all go to vote in the For the Love of Jasper contest that the Jasper's Darlins have going. www. fanfiction. net/ ~fortheloveofjasper#**

**You got this chapter extra quick because I was feeling so nice this week. Lots of reviews make me feel nice. Nice Tara gets you the Thanksgiving in Forks chapter much faster. Just saying....**


	34. 33 Forks

**A/N: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. I am not her in disguise. Believe me, she wouldn't let Carlisle have nearly as much fun as I do.**

Thanks so much to those of you who reviewed. I hope that the teaser I sent helped you to make more sense of the last chapter. Keep in mind that we see very little of Volterra's happenings, and things might not be what they seem.

Quick warning, there is a lemon in this chapter. You can blame it on ninapolitan's birthday gift, a you tube video of Peter Facinelli that required a change of panties after viewing. That video caused this lemon, as I never planned to put one in this chapter. Check it out at: .com/watch?v=dy71BbB5flw&feature=player_embedded. 

I have a rec for you. I happened upon this oneshot that appeared in ninapolitan's DILF contest. It is a Carlisle/Bella, and one of the fucking hottest portrayals of Carlisle I've ever read! You simply must check it out. It's called The Hummer, the author is mabarberella. It's on my favorites list.

Chapter 33: Forks

CPOV

When Alice announced to us that she couldn't see Aro anymore, the entire room fell silent. Aro had disappeared from Alice's visions, and there were only three reasons that any of us knew for that to happen: wolves, my children, or his own death. As far as any of us knew, Aro was as yet unaware of the existence of both the pack and Bella's pregnancy. I wanted it to stay that way. It had to stay that way. Was it wrong of me to hope that my old friend was dead?

I looked around the room and saw that everyone seemed to be thinking along the same lines as I was. Eleazar looked especially uncomfortable. I suspected that was due to his former relationship with Aro Not to mention the concerns he had already mentioned to me.

Finally, I broke the silence. "There is no way that the Volturi know of the twins – no one outside of this room is aware of their existence, and surely none of us have told them. Nor can I imagine that Aro is suddenly spending time with the Quiluetes. This only leaves one option for his having no future... I think that I should call him. Warn him."

"It would probably help us later – he'd be sure to protect us if we ever needed it, knowing you had protected him," Jasper said.

It was settled, then. Alice jumped up from her place on the loveseat and ran to the kitchen, returning seconds later with my cell phone. As I dialed the number, I heard Eleazar remind me in a low voice to be cautious with my words. I wouldn't forget.

"_Ciao,"_ Aro's voice filtered through the speakers of my telephone.

"Hello, Aro," I said, somewhat relieved. "I'm happy to hear that you are alright."  
_"Hello Carlisle, old friend. Why wouldn't I be alright?" _

"My daughter Alice had a vision in which your future disappeared. She has been unable to find any sign of you in the future."

"_Non __è__ buono, Carlisle. Has this happened before?"_

"The only reason that Alice has lost a future in the past is because the subject died," I lied.

"_Well, that certainly is a cause of concern, no? Does she have any vision to explain the cause?"_

"I'm sorry, Aro, she does not."

"_Very well. I thank you for your warning, then. I will keep my guard close by."_

"Be careful, Aro. I will let you know if Alice sees any change."

"_Thank you, my dear friend. Tell me, how is your wife?"_

"She is wonderful, thank you for asking. She is resting now."

"_Meraviglioso. It pleases me to hear of your happiness. Tell me, Carlisle, will you be visiting Forks soon?" _

I wondered briefly why he would ask me such a question. I decided, once again, that it was better to lie.

"No, Aro, we are not on the continent at this time. We are using the last year you gave us to see as much of the world as we can. I will be forever grateful for that gift, Aro."

"_Well, I suppose your informing me about my impending doom serves as quite the repayment of the favor. For now, though, dear friend, I think I must end our call. I believe it is rather important that I speak with my guard sooner rather than later."_

"I understand, Aro. Be safe."

"_Thank you Carlisle. Ciao."_

I set my phone back on the table and looked at Eleazar, noting his concern.

"You did well, Carlisle. But I am concerned by his interest in Forks. Why is he asking where you are?"

"Are you sure we're not being too suspicious, Elly?" Carmen asked.

"Mi cariña, we can never be too suspicions when it comes to the lives of our family. With the babies coming, it is muy importante that Aro is unaware of our location. We do not want him to arrive while we are unaware."

Eleazar's nervousness did not sit well with me. Other than myself, I did not know anyone with more knowledge of the Volturi than him. I did not appreciate the feeling that sat in my stomach, telling me that there was something we weren't seeing, something that could be dangerous.

I turned, and looked determinedly at Alice. "Dear, please look for Caius and Marcus in your visions."

We all watched as Alice's eyes glazed over. A moment later, she opened her eyes, looking more confused and concerned than before.

"I can See Marcus sitting in a room at the castle, staring out the window. He looks as bored as ever. But then Aro and Caius enter. His expression doesn't change as they talk, but then he nods his head. That is the moment that everything goes black."

I looked around the room, stopping for a moment to look into the eyes of each member of my family, lingering the longest on Eleazar and Jasper. No one seemed pleased with the news, but the two of them mirrored my own unease.

This couldn't be good.

Two weeks have passed since my phone call to Aro, and, despite Alice's constant attention to the matter, we still knew nothing more than we did when I hung up the phone. It was extremely unnerving, and Eleazar's constant pacing around the living room was only intensifying my anxiety.

The biggest problem was not knowing what to worry about. So I found things.

I became an expert at worrying about Bella. It seemed there was so many reasons to be concerned about her, and I wasn't sure which was the most pressing – her health, or the possible threat of Aro. So I was with her constantly, never leaving her side for any longer than absolutely necessary.

Together, we participated in a few more of Bella's activity choices from the hat, including attending a ballet and spending a day eating her way through Boston. I had put my foot down, however, when Bella pulled nipple piercing out of the hat, glaring at Emmett when I recognized his handwriting on the little slip of paper. _Not funny._

For as many hours as I spent trying to make the most of the rest of the time she had as a human, I spent just as much time watching over her health. Over the course of these two weeks, Bella had doubled her daily intake of blood, now drinking a thermos with each both breakfast and dinner. The boys were having to run farther out each day to bring it for her, rather than risk too much impact on the local wildlife population. Her food intake had not increased quite as dramatically, but I was pleased nonetheless with her intake of nutrients, having convinced her to eat something healthy along with whatever odd combinations of junk food she had requested.

I also noticed, as did Jasper, that she was becoming more and more fatigued with each passing day. She was trying her best to cover it up, but I could see it in the way that she moved around the house, the way that her eyelids slipped shut for minutes instead of seconds when she blinked, and even in the fact that she was not talking in her sleep at night. I didn't press the issue, but I encouraged her to nap every day after she had her lunch.

My second favorite subject to worry about was Charlie. I had a plan in mind of how to handle things, but I had no idea what to expect from my father-in-law when I arrived on his doorstep with his daughter, who now appeared to be seven months pregnant, less than four months after our wedding. I certainly did not expect him to take that well.

I was brought out of my mental wanderings when Bella walked into the living room, her beautifully rounded abdomen leading the way. Her warm smile, which reached all the way to her gorgeous, though tired, chocolate eyes, warmed my cold heart exponentially. I returned her smile, jumping up off the couch and running over to her, carefully lifting her into my arms and carrying her back to the comfort of the cushions.

"So are you ready to leave tomorrow morning? Our flight is quite early," I asked.

Her smile grew into a full grin. "I'm all ready to go – Alice packed my bags last night. I still can't believe you're taking me to Forks!"

I chuckled lightly. "That's probably the first time that you, or anyone, has made such a statement while sounding excited, you know," I teased.

"I'm just happy that we're going to see Charlie. I'm so glad that he and Sue are finally getting married. I can see how happy she makes him, and that makes me feel so much better. I worried about him for a long time – he spent so much of his life alone and kind of miserable. He deserves someone to love him the way that Sue does."

"I know, sweetheart. I think they'll be very happy together. The question remains to be answered, however, whether he'll still be happy with me once he sees this," I said, placing my hands on her belly.

"Of course he will," Bella reassured. "He's going to have grandchildren. He'll be thrilled."

My wife the optimist.

"I can't deny that I myself am thrilled at the idea of fatherhood. I live for the day that I will hold our children in my arms," I said, meaning every word. Despite all of the stress, all of the worry, and all of the fear that the pregnancy had caused, I had never been happier.

Lifting the hem of her shirt up to expose her soft skin, I pressed two kisses onto her belly. "Hello babies, Papa is here," I said softly.

Two nudges answered me, and Bella laughed lightly. "I love that they answer you every time. They love you so much, Carlisle."

"They do," Jasper said as he walked into the room. "I can feel it."  
He sounded amazed. I didn't blame him.

"You can sense their emotions, son?"

"Since this mornin'," he replied. "And the love comin' from them is somethin' akin to adoration. Reminds me of the way you feel about Bella."

If vampires could blush... Bella did it for me, though.

"I love you too, babies. Papa loves you so much. And Mommy does too." Another kick. Then two more from the lower belly – my son. "We're going to go see your grandfather tomorrow, children. Please don't give your mother a difficult time as we travel."

"Contentment," Jasper said, smiling. "And a bit of determination too. They are amazin', Dad, the way they respond to you. Every time they hear your voice, there's a burst of love. Bella's too – it's like a miracle, Dad, that something not even born yet could feel so much love."

I could hear the wonder in Jasper's voice. He had spent so many years of his existence in misery, feeling all of the pain and hatred that surrounded him. What it must mean to him now, to feel such opposite emotions constantly?

"Speakin' of travel, Carlisle, Ali and I are going to run out for a quick hunt. We thought it best to be full before getting on the plane tomorrow mornin'. We'll bring back a snack for tonight and breakfast time for Bella when we return, alright?"

"That'd be great, Jas. Moose?" Bella asked with a cross of innocence and affirmation. She knew he'd get it for her even without her asking for it, but she liked to remind him anyway. She complained the day before when Eleazar had returned to her with deer, saying that the taste was abysmal.

"Of course," Jasper said with a grin, shaking his head at her. "You know I'd never get anything less than the best for you, little sister."

A few moments later, Alice bounded into the room and grabbed Jasper by the arm, dragging him toward the back door. I laughed lightly as I heard her explain to him that there was a large herd of moose not far north, and they'd only catch them if they left immediately.

With Alice and Jasper gone, we had the house to ourselves. Carmen and Eleazar had taken a short leave from us to return to Denali, and Rosalie and Emmett had gone to spend the holiday weekend in New York City.

It seemed that Bella made this realization at the same moment as I did.

She turned to me, a mischievous smirk playing at her lips. "Dr. Cullen, is it time for my examination?" She asked in a sultry tone that went straight to my cock. _God, what this woman did to me._

A growl slipped from my throat as I turned myself so that she was trapped between my body and the arm of the couch.

"Yes, Mrs. Cullen, I believe it _is_ that time..." I whispered. "I'll have to ask you to undress for me."

I sat up and flashed her a small smirk as she started at me with her mouth shaped like a perfect 'o'. Still, she got up slowly from the couch, and in a surprising turn, began to sway her hips from side to side as she bared her torso to me, one button at a time.

Unable to stop myself, I rose to my knees on the couch and brought my mouth down on one of her full breasts, tasting it and teasing her nipple in a tight peak. The scent of her arousal was already permeating the air around us, and I began to purr against her soft flesh as I moved to the opposite breast. I could hear the soft moans falling from her lips, barely even a whisper, as she experienced the pleasure of the vibrations and my cold tongue on her sensitive skin.

"Mmmm...Carlisle," she moaned as I let my lips and tongue make a trail from her chest up toward her ear, never leaving her body. The higher my lips traveled, the closer my body came to hers. When I reached her neck, I was fully pressed against her. I parted my lips and took her skin into my mouth, suckling it.

"Oh my... Carlisle..." she breathed. Then one of her hands, which had been tangled in my hair, came down to my back, grabbing tightly between my shoulder blades to hold me close to her.

I let her skin fall from my lips, smiling as I noticed the strawberry mark I had left behind. "God, baby, I want you so much," I said throatily.

I missed her response due to my preoccupation with the kick that one of my children, presumably my daughter, since it was higher up, placed to my abdomen. I pulled back away from her suddenly when I felt it, and immediately noticed Bella's disappointed face.

"Come back, honey. We're nowhere near done," she said huskily.

I couldn't deny her, especially not when my own body was just as desperate as hers. Pulling her to me, I silently pleaded with the children. _Please, babies, please don't kick Papa again._

Reaching up, I finished the job she had begun by pulling her arms out of her shirt sleeves, and then removed my own top as well. She leaned in to kiss me, and I reveled in the feeling of our skin – fire and ice – pressed up against each other, and groaned deeply.

I placed one hand on the back of her head and pulled her face to mine, parting her lips with my tongue so that I could enter her mouth. As our tongues played languidly together, massaging and exploring, I used my other hand to pull her pants down over her hips. Since she was now straddling my hips, I couldn't get them down much further, so I gripped her panties and ripped them off of her body so that I could touch her where I knew she wanted me most.

"Oh, Carlisle," she moaned, pulling her lips away to take a breath just as two of my fingers entered her heat. "God, I love it when you're impatient."

The babies, however, apparently did not agree, choosing this moment to kick me once again.

_Come on, babies... Now is REALLY not the time!_

"I need you, baby. I can't wait," I murmured, lifting her up so that I could remove her pants completely. I removed mine as well, and then sat back down, Bella on top of me once again.

"I want you inside me, Carlisle. I need to feel you moving inside me," she said desperately.

I knew what she meant – it had been several days, between her fatigue and her insistence that we wait until he house was empty to avoid another problem like the one that had occurred when I saw her tattoo. Which reminded me, I needed to get another look at that. Now.

"Only a minute more, baby, I promise," I whispered. Then, putting my hands on her hips, I lifted her up so that her hip was in front of my face. I leaned forward and looked at the beautiful heart inked on her hip, with my name written inside, and then traced it with my tongue. She shivered. I lowered her back down, and, not wanting to make her wait anymore, placed her right on my hardened cock.

"Oh God! Aaaaahhhh..." she moaned as I slid her down my length.

"Ride me baby," I whispered into her ear before tracing it with my tongue.

I held her against me as she used her thighs to raise and lower her body slowly, letting me feel each millimeter of the inside of her as it moved against me. It was amazing, but it was torturous. I needed more.

"So good, Bella... Faster, baby..."

Another kick. _Fuck, I cannot do this. _I stilled her with my hands, stopping her movement with my cock as deep in her as it could be in this position.

"Why are you stopping, honey?" She asked breathlessly.

"I can't, Bella. I can't do it. The babies... I can't," I said in a rather panicky voice.

"Carlisle," she said, taking my cheeks between her hands and looking me straight in the eye. "You won't hurt them. It's alright."  
"I'm not afraid of hurting them, baby. But I am afraid of damaging them psychologically. They kick every time I call you baby. They can _hear_ us, Bella!"

"I'll be quiet, Carlisle, I promise. But please, please don't stop!"

I took a second to consider her proposition. If I continued, I was going to have to deal with the babies' response, which, frankly, was making me quite uncomfortable. But if I did not, I was going to have to go to the bathroom alone to relieve myself, because I was much to far gone to just stop. Finally, I thought of a way to compromise.

"Bella, come here," I said, pulling her off of me and setting her next to me on the couch. "Bend over the back," I directed. She did. _Oh god, that ass..._

Rising from my position on the couch, I took my place behind her and entered her slowly. We both moaned deeply. I leaned forward so that my chest was resting against her back, which was now so overheated that she wouldn't mind my coldness, and reached beneath her to take her breasts into my hands.

I quickly set a rhythm that was quick, but not too hard, fondling her full breasts as I moved in and out of her.

"Oh god, Bella.. You feel so good."  
From this angle, it was all pleasure again, since there were no babies to distract me.

"Mmmm...Carlisle, honey... Like that... Oh god, there, honey, there!" she cried out as my angle changed, bringing me into contact with the spongy area that I knew would so quickly take her over the edge.

"Touch yourself, Bella... Help me make you cum. I want to see you fall apart beneath me."

She did as I asked, her sounds coming out in incoherent utterances. I was so close, barely containing my own release, but desperate to feel her reach her peak with me.  
As I felt her body tense and heard her sharp intake of breath, I knew she was there.

"Cum with me, Bella. I want to feel you," I groaned.

She didn't need to be told twice, cumming with a scream around me as her entire body shuddered with the pleasure, milking me of my release. I cried out her name, squeezing her breasts under my palms as I was overcome.  
I thrust into her twice more, riding out the climax, before I let myself fall down on the couch, pulling her into my lap and holding her tight against me.

"That was nowhere near quiet, Isabella Cullen," I said, still breathing heavily. I was rewarded with her laughter as she melted into me.

I carried Bella back to our bedroom for the night, and laid with her through the night as she slept. I spent a good part of her sleeping hours in the way that had become my habit over the past weeks – talking to my children. I told them about myself and their mother, and the story of our love. I told them about our family and how we came to be together. I told them stories of the past, as well as my hopes for their futures. I never told them that I feared that they would be monsters, for I no longer did. They had shown us, with the love that Jasper could feel, that there was more than enough humanity in them. No, I spent my time sharing happy thoughts with them. Bella was not even aware that I did this each night – I wasn't ashamed by any means, but I just wanted to keep this my special private time with my children.

The next morning, I woke Bella gently and, with Jasper's help, loaded the luggage into the car while Bella and Alice prepared to leave. I was grateful to my son and daughter for agreeing to travel with us. There was a good chance that we'd need Jasper's assistance on the plane as well as with Charlie.

While Bella enjoyed her breakfast (banana pancakes, turkey sausage, and some gooey concoction that Bella called a 'Rice Krispie Treat'), I ran out into the woods behind the house and sated myself with two large bucks. When I returned from my hunt, I found everyone ready to leave.

As we drove toward Boston, I reminded everyone to be on their guard while we traveled – though all fully sated on blood, air travel has often proven difficult for my family, as the re-circulating air becomes so saturated with the scent of every passenger's blood that it is nearly impossible to ignore. I turned my head back toward Jasper, who was seated behind Bella, and gave him a meaningful glance, a special reminder to keep his power trained on Bella, just in case. I would not allow her to suffer the guilt of repeating her near-miss in Boston.

The flight was long, and, I could discern from her constant movements and the grimace that Bella tried to hide, uncomfortable. Twice I felt a rush of calm overtake me, Jasper's assistance for Bella being close enough to affect me as well, but she never showed any outward evidence of her struggle, and for that I was proud. I held her against me the entire flight, one arm around her shoulders and the hand of the other resting on her belly, feeling the activities of my children throughout our travels.

When the plane finally touched down at Sea-Tac, Bella and Jasper both heaved a sigh of relief. We were the first ones off the plane, and, at Alice's suggestion, we sent the two of them off to retrieve the rental car while she and I got the luggage, thus giving them a few moments to get out into the fresh air and calm themselves.

When Alice and I met them at the exit near the baggage claim, waiting in a dark blue Chrysler 300, I slid into the back seat beside my wife.  
"Oh thank god that's over! Carlisle, I thought that flight would never end!" She cried as I wrapped by arms around her.

"I'm sorry it was unpleasant, sweetheart. How bad was it, son?"  
"Not quite as bad for her as it was for me, but it was pretty damn uncomfortable," Jasper replied.

"I'm sorry, Jas," Bella said, sounding repentant.

"Don't appologize, sis. It's not your fault."

"I know, but it must have made it harder for you."

"Jasper was just fine, Bella," Alice interrupted, effectively stopping Bella's guilt trip in it's tracks. "There's no need for anyone to be upset. We're here in Washington, a short drive from Forks and Charlie, and no one died. I'd say that's a win-win, wouldn't you?"

Alice's comment was exactly what had been needed to lighten the mood, and everyone relaxed once again. We chatted amiably for the rest of the drive into Forks, discussing our plans for the week and what we were expecting to see at the wedding, though my mind was quite honestly not straying far from the thought of what I was expecting in regards to Charlie seeing his daughter. From the looks I was getting from Jasper through the rear view mirror, my worries had not gone unnoticed. He responded to them with a wave of confidence and hope, which I greatly appreciated.

As we passed the large sign that proclaimed our arrival in Forks, Alice turned in her seat to address us all at once. "Now, I can't really see what's going to happen when you go to Charlie's, and I'm sorry about that. I wish I had anything to tell you, but I just don't. So we'll all go together, and if Jasper's and my presence alone isn't enough to keep Charlie from freaking out, then Jasper will help out. Alright?" She said this to all of us before addressing Bella specifically. "Everything is going to be alright. I know I can't See, but I'm sure of it anyways. Trust Charlie."

Bella nodded, barely perceptible to anyone without our enhanced abilities, but enough to satisfy Alice, who turned back toward the front of the car and began chattering about the dress she had chosen for Bella to wear to the wedding. I had to admit, from her description alone, I was sure that Bella would be breathtaking. _Then again, she always was._

Finally, Jasper stopped the car in Charlie Swan's driveway. My own deep breath was echoed by my companions as we stepped out of the car. I quickly walked around the car to assist Bella, taking her hand to help her up and out, and then wrapping my arm around her shoulders to lead her toward the front door.

We knocked on the door, perhaps one of the only times that any member of my family had done so at this house, and waited in silence for Charlie to answer. As we heard the lock click from inside, I noticed that all four of us were holding our breath.

The door opened, and it was Sue who stood on the other side. I was relieved. Or, at least I was until she looked at me, shock and fear written all over her face. I felt Jasper stiffen beside me, most likely due to the onslaught of Sue's emotions.

"Charlie hasn't gotten back from the station yet, but please, come in," she said mechanically, the shock of Bella's condition still ruling her behavior. She stepped aside, giving us room to enter.

We filed into the house and settled in the living room, with Sue right behind us.

"I'd offer you a drink, but I doubt we'd have anything you like," she said. "But perhaps before Charlie gets here you'd like to explain to me how in the hell this," she gestured toward Bella's swollen abdomen, "happened."

"Honestly, Sue, we had no idea it could. It was, I promise you, as much a shock to us as it is to you."

Her face softened a bit. "I believe you, Carlisle. But what..?"  
"What is it?" I asked, understanding her question before it was asked. She nodded. "While I'm not entirely sure, I can tell you that both of the children," I smiled as she gasped, putting her hand over her mouth, "have beating hearts, as well as a thirst for blood. It seems that they are hybrids of our DNA."

"My god," she breathed. "When?"

"Thought I can't say the exact date, my suspicion is that Bella conceived on our honeymoon, before we left the island. If that is correct, then she is about three and a half months along, though you can obviously see that the pregnancy is far more advanced than that." She nodded again. "The babies are growing rapidly, approximately twice the usual rate. Given that, Bella should deliver somewhere around the beginning of the year."

"What are you going to tell Charlie?" She asked. She was doing well with the information I was presenting, but I supposed I couldn't expect less from the mother of two werewolves, one of them the only female wolf ever known.

"The truth," I said quietly. Alice, Jasper, and Bella turned to me in shock. I had not given them any inclination of my intentions here. I smiled gently at them. "There is no other way. I want what is best for Bella, and we must realize that Charlie is living his life on the cusp of two supernatural civilizations, both of which contain members of his family. He has a right to know."

Though I knew the risk of what I was doing here tonight, both to myself and Charlie, I honestly believed that I had no other choice. I have spent decades with my family, but now I was about to become a father for the first time. I truly understood now what that meant, and I would not be the one to deprive this man of his child. Not when I didn't have to.

"Are you sure this," Alice began.

"The Volturi," Jasper started.

"Can you," Sue this time.

All three spoke at once, but, quiet as it was, Bella's timid voice was the only one that I heard. "I don't have to leave Charlie?"

I answered them all at once. "It is the right thing to do, for everyone involved. No, I am not sure that it is smart, but I am sure that it is right. Charlie will learn the truth tonight."

Bella threw herself into my arms, hugging my as tightly as she could and pressing butterfly kisses all over my face as she whispered the words "thank you" over and over again.

Jasper was giving me a look of warning, obviously not agreeing with my decision. I hadn't really expected him to. His life prior to joining our family had been one in which the Volturi had to be the policemen of, and he had seen them as the enemy. He had a very healthy respect for their authority, and certainly did not want to bring their wrath upon our family. I could understand that.

"Jasper, if you'd like to take Alice and go back to our house now, that would be fine. I'm certain that I can handle the situation with Charlie on my own. It will be safer for both of you."

"Safer?" asked Sue.

"Yes, Sue. It is against the rules for us to reveal ourselves to humans. Bella was very lucky to have left Volterra when she was there five years ago. She is most likely the only human ever to have walked out of the Volturi's castle. They let her go only because of her relationship with Edward, and thereby me, and with the promise that she would be changed. If the Volturi were to discover that we had made ourselves known to Charlie, I doubt that they would be so forgiving a second time. Aro, who is one of the leaders, has the ability to hear every thought you've ever heard with a single touch of your hand. If Alice and Jasper left now, they would not be accountable for the crime I am about to commit. If they stay, Aro would see it in their memories, and they would be destroyed just as quickly as I."

"I will not leave, Carlisle," Jasper said with determination. "You are my father, and she is my sister. I will stand by you until my last hunt."

"Nor will I, Carlisle," agreed Alice.

I smiled at both of them, grateful for their allegiance and love. "If you are sure," I said softly.

"We are," they both said.

I was still holding Bella in my lap when Charlie entered through the front door. I held her there, despite her attempts to jump up and greet her father. I preferred that he not see her condition until after he had hung up his gun. She seemed to understand.

"Sue?" Charlie called from the entranceway. "Bella?"

"In here, Charlie!" Sue called back. "Everyone is here."

Before Charlie could enter the room, I set Bella back onto the couch beside me, and then rose to greet my father-in-law as he appeared.

"Good evening, Charlie," I said cordially.

"Hello Carlisle. Nice trip?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you."  
"Certainly you aren't calling me 'sir', Carlisle?" Charlie teased, slapping me on the shoulder. He didn't appear to notice the hardness. "I'm not that old."  
"Of course not, Charlie," I replied.

"Where's Bella?" He asked excitedly.

"I'm right here, Dad," Bella called from behind me. I turned, letting Charlie see past me, and saw that Bella had risen to greet her father. "Bella?" He asked, obviously shocked.

"Hi Dad," she replied, smiling, her trademark blush coloring her cheeks. She placed her hand over her stomach. "Surprise, Grandpa."

_Well, I suppose that's as good a way as any to tell him._

"Gr..gr..Grandpa?" Charlie stuttered. "But... You just... How...?"

His heart was beating rapidly, and his breathing had quickened as well. I decided it was time to relieve him. "Sit please, Charlie. I'll explain everything."

Charlie sat down next to Sue, who took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Charlie, I know this is quite a surprise, and I'm truly sorry for presenting it to you in this way."  
"Carlisle, my daughter has been pregnant for quite some time," Charlie said firmly, obviously having composed himself. "Why in the hell have you not told me before now?" He admonished.

"Charlie," I said, speaking in a calm voice, hoping it would carry over to him as well. "We have only known about the pregnancy for a little over a month."

"Now, Carlisle, surely you don't expect me to believe that! You are a doctor for god's sake! Don't tell me you thought Bella was just gaining a little weight around her middle!"

"No, Charlie, I am not telling you that at all. I.."

"I'll tell you what you did! You defiled my daughter before you married her and then tried to hide it! You promised me, Carlisle Cullen!"  
Charlie was furious. His face was bright red and his hands curled into fists. I looked over at Jasper, silently begging him for his assistance.

"Dad!" Bella cried, embarrassed by her father's assumptions, I'm sure.

I felt the wave of calm flowing through the room, and noticed as Charlie's posture relaxed.

"Charlie, please, I'm begging you to let me explain. I promise to tell you the truth, all of it." The moment felt uncomfortably familiar, and I was reminded of the day that I surprised Bella in Scotland, begging her to believe me in the misunderstanding about Irina. I sighed._ Must I always be in this position with the Swans?_

Jasper's power having had it's effect, Charlie nodded his head for me to continue.

"Charlie, there is much to explain, so I am going to ask you to please listen to me. The reason that I have only known of Bella's pregnancy for a short time, despite the fact that it appears to have progressed significantly, is that she has in fact only been pregnant for about three months." I saw him open his mouth to speak, but raised my hand to stop him. "Charlie, Bella's pregnancy is not typical. It has progressed rapidly, about twice the usual rate for a human pregnancy."

"Human?" He said, speaking as though the word was stuck in his throat.

"Yes, Charlie, human. Something that I am not." I paused, not so much for dramatic effect as to give him a chance to process the words. I did not expect a response, so was extremely surprised to get one.

"Are you a wolf?"

I can't tell you who was the most surprised by that question. My guess would have been Sue, who was looking at him as though he had suddenly turned into a wolf himself. Charlie noticed our shock.

"Well? Are you? A wolf? You know, like Seth."

Sue choked. "How do you know about that, Charlie?"  
"I was looking out the bedroom window one morning, down at your house, and I saw a giant wolf come out of the woods right into your backyard. Scared the shit out of me. Thing was as big as a horse! I was ready to grab Harry's old shotgun when suddenly, the wolf disappeared and Seth was standing right where it had just been. For a minute I was just standing there, confused, but I know what I saw. And the more I thought about it, the more it made sense."

I was flabbergasted not only by Charlie's knowledge, but by the idea that he thought that _any_ of this made sense.

He continued. "You know, the howling in the woods, the sightings of giant bears, all the boys on the rez suddenly acting strangely and running around half naked – Seth, though, he was all the way naked when he appeared in the backyard." He shook his head, as if trying to shake away the image in his head. "Wish I could un-see that!"

"How long have you known?" Sue asked, sounding amazed. Probably at how well Charlie was handling it. I knew I was amazed.

"A little over a year," he replied.

"And you didn't say anything?" she asked.

"I figured if anyone wanted me to know, they'd tell me," he said, as if it were no big deal. "But that's all beside the point." He looked back at me. "So, you're a wolf?"

"No, Charlie. Only the Quiluetes are wolves. My family and I are vampires."

Charlie laughed. A full, loud, deep belly laugh. And we all looked at him, confused by his reaction. When he finally calmed down, he answered our unasked questions.

"Where the fuck do I live?" He asked.

"Forks, Washington, Charlie. It's apparently the center of the supernatural world," Alice answered sweetly. He just continued to laugh.

A moment later, Charlie looked at me seriously. "Carlisle," he said, his voice thoughtful. "How is it that you are a vampire and my daughter is alive?"

"We only drink from animals, Charlie. And we would never harm Bella."

"So how does this all work?"

"Well, once bitten, our bodies freeze. We don't change in any way, and we are immortal, save for the one way that we can be killed, which can only be accomplished by another vampire or a wolf like Seth."

"So how old are you?"

"I am over three hundred and sixty years old. I was born in England in the 1640s, and I was changed when I was twenty-three years old."

"And the others?"  
"I'm the next oldest," Jasper answered. "I was changed when I was about twenty, and a soldier in the Civil War."  
"The American Civil War?" Charlie asked with wide eyes. Jasper nodded.

"I was changed around 1900, I think I was nineteen," added Alice.

"Wow. And to think I thought you were too old for my daughter. Whole new ballgame now, huh son?" Charlie said with a smirk.

"I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you before, Charlie. You must understand, there are rules in our world. We have something like a royal family who enforces these rules. All the rules boil down to one, really, which is that humans are not to find out about our existence. I'm risking my life by telling you this tonight."

"What about Bella?" He asked intuitively.

"They already know that Bella knows. Those days that Bella disappeared with Alice? She was in Italy, where they live, rescuing Edward." Charlie looked more confused than ever. "I know, Charlie, it's a lot of information. That's a long story that is really not important. What is important, however, is that you understand that this information must remain secret, just life Seth's secret."  
"Who could I tell? They'd lock me in a padded room!"

"I trust you, Charlie. That's why I told you. Bella knows our secret, and the Volturi – the royals – know that she knows. They accepted this on the condition that we make her a vampire like us. It's very likely that her change will take place when she gives birth to the twins, as I'm not sure she will live throuhg the delivery otherwise."

"Twins? You're having twins?" Charlie's seriousness dissolved as he took in the news, and a huge smile crossed his face.

"Yes dad," Bella said, grinning. "A boy and a girl."

Charlie rose from his seat and went to his daughter, wrapping his arms around her. "I love you so much, Bella. This is all crazy news, what you told me tonight, but I want you to know that I love you, whether you're the human that you are now, or a vampire, or a wolf, or any other thing that I don't know about yet."

"Thank you, dad. I love you too."

"Charlie, you need to understand that, once Bella becomes a vampire, she'll not be able to be near you for at least a year or two. In the beginning, it's very difficult to be around people without wanting to..."

"Eat them?" Charlie supplied.

"Yes," I answered, slightly embarrassed. "But, as you can see, the three of us are fully in control, so there will come a time when you and Bella can be near each other again."

"And the babies?"

"I don't know. They want blood, I can tell you that much, but not much else. It's something that we'll have to determine after they arrive."

"Well, alright." Charlie spoke, but then was silent for a moment. He had just gotten a lot of information, and I knew he needed the time to process it.

"Charlie, why don't we excuse ourselves for the night, and give you a chance to think. We'll see you tomorrow at the rehearsal dinner. Is that alright?"  
"Yeah, Carlisle. That would be good." Charlie seemed a little dazed, but still rose to shake my hand. "Don't know how I never put it all together," he mumbled. "Cold, stiff, pale..."

"Your daughter is probably the only one who ever figured it out on her own, Charlie. Don't be too hard on yourself."  
"You knew, Bella? The whole time?"

"I did, Dad. I knew since the day before I went to their house for the first time. It didn't change anything for me though."  
"It really doesn't for me either, honey. I'm a little bit surprised is all." He turned back to me. "Thank you for being honest with me, Carlisle. I don't guess I could've kept my daughter if you hadn't, right?"  
"That's right, Charlie. I couldn't do that to you."

"No, I guess not. Sometimes it takes being a father to understand how one thinks."

We took a few more minutes to say our goodbyes, and then Charlie and Sue saw us out. I was so pleased by how well my father-in-law had taken the news, and knew that, not for the first time, Seth was responsible for our good fortune. I'd have to be sure to thank him.

The rest of our trip in Forks was simple. We attended Charlie and Sue's wedding, which was a beautiful ceremony combining elements of Christian and Quiluete traditions. Charlie looked truly happy, in a way that was altogether new for him, and I knew that it was more than just the wedding that was making him feel that way, as he had made no secret of his joy over becoming a grandfather. Though he did find it quite amusing when he reminded us that we'd have to tell Renee. I was not looking forward to that at all – I knew Charlie, and knew that his relationship with the Quiluetes would help me, but Renee was a bit of a blank canvas, and I had no idea how to approach the subject with her.

At the wedding reception, we took a moment to visit with some of the pack members, including Sam, who had stopped phasing and stepped down as alpha already. He came to the wedding with his wife, Emily, and their new son, Lee Jacob Uley, named to honor Leah and Jacob. I was happy to see that he was doing so well.

We greeted the rest of the pack as well, including Quil, who was now alpha. I had to explain to Quil the details of Bella's pregnancy, as the pack was rather curious, and, according to Jasper, a bit nervous as well. He reminded me that he was upholding Sam's promise to us, and that we remained at peace. I thanked him, and reaffirmed my promise of assistance to the pack if we were ever needed. I hoped, though, that we wouldn't be. I was ready to live the rest of my existence in peace with my wife and children.

We left the morning after the wedding, since Charlie and Sue had decided to accept our wedding gift, which was the use of Isle Esme as a honeymoon destination. They would be staying for two weeks, as Charlie was determined to return before Bella gave birth, despite my explanations that he would not be able to be present, for the sake of his safety. He would not be deterred, though. I must say, though, that his insistence pleased me immensely – I was so afraid of how he might react to the truth, but he had surprised me. I was so happy that I was able to give Bella this gift, to let her keep her father, especially since she was giving me the biggest gift of all.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter...my longest one to date. What did you think of Charlie and Sue? Aro's call? Carlisle's baby issues... Let me know!**

**Also, my sincere thanks to my girls, JaspersIzzy, JaspersBella, and Clurrabella, who were insanely helpful, though slightly distracting, as I worked on this chapter. I love you.**


	35. Charlie's POV and Sparkle Awards

Hey everyone!

I just got exciting news that Basking in the Light of Our Love was nominated for a Sparkle Award for Best Sequel. I'm up against several authors that I admire, so believe me when I say that I am absolutely honored to have received this nomination. Please visit the site and vote (for me, or not, just vote!). It is http:// thesparkleawards . Webs . com/vote . Htm (remove spaces) Voting is open until Nov 8.

Also, I have received a few requests for Charlie's POV from the whole "We're vampires" conversation, and the one with Sue that followed. So here's the deal. If you would like to see this, it is going to come in the review replies for Ch 33 (last chapter). If you haven't reviewed yet and want to see this outtake, go review it now!

Thanks. New chapter should be out in the next couple of days.

Tara


	36. 34 Letting Things Fall Where They May

**A/N: Stephenie Meyer still owns all things Twilight.**

**A/N is at the bottom.**

Chapter 34: Letting Things Fall Where They May

BPOV

When I woke up this morning, I felt like I hadn't slept in a week. The travel back and forth to Forks had worn me out, I suppose. Carlisle started to kiss my neck, and I sighed. I wanted him, but I was so tired...

He must have sensed my lackluster response, because the next second he was sitting up in the bed, holding my wrist in his hand as he sniffed the skin. If he wasn't a vampire and a doctor, I'd probably find this behavior odd.

Suddenly, he placed one hand on my belly and looked up at me with concern in his eyes.  
"Bella, you're not feeling well, are you?" he asked.

"I don't feel sick, just very tired," I replied.

"It's no wonder. Your skin is tinged with yellow and your heart is beating faster than usual. By your own admission you are exhausted, and I can smell the absence of sufficient iron in your blood. Sweetheart, you are rather severely anemic. Did you have enough to drink yesterday?"

"I had two thermoses full, one at breakfast and one after dinner."

"Elly!" He called at the same volume that he was using to speak to me, knowing that Eleazar would be able to hear him. Carlisle mumbled something under his breath, then turned back toward me. "Eleazar is running into the woods to get you a snack. Emmett and Jasper will run farther out and bring you back a carnivore – bear or lion, whichever they are able to find. We must increase the amount of blood you are taking in, sweethert. The twins need more than what we're giving them, it seems, so they are taking it from your own blood supply. I'm sorry, sweetheart, I should have noticed earlier in the night and taken care of you before it got so bad."

Carlisle took me into his arms, holding me against his chest, and I let my head fall down to rest nuzzled in his neck. I felt myself slipping toward sleep once again as I breathed in his sweet scent.

"You smell like Christmas," I mumbled sleepily. I could hear him chuckle above me.

"You'll be alright, my love. I promise you, I'll take care of you. I'll find a way."

Some period of time later, I really could not discern whether it had been minutes or hours, Eleazar and Carmen entered the room, thermos in hand.  
"Bebe eso," Carmen said, handing it to me.

I crinkled my nose as I caught the scent. "What is this?" I asked, offering my sister a look of disgust.

"I know, Bella, it's not your favorite, it's deer. It was the nearest animal we found, and will do in an emergency such as this. Now drink up, hermanita."

I didn't really want to, but a sharp kick from my belly reminded me that I was not the only one who was thirsty right now. So I tilted the container up and let the blood pour down my throat.

_Yuck. Tastes like cauliflower._

Carlisle, noticing my grimace I'm sure, ran one hand soothingly over my hair and the other in circles on my swollen abdomen. I felt the babies begin to move as the blood flowed into my belly, and it reminded me why I was doing this. I could handle it, for them.

As soon as I finished choking down my morning beverage, Rose and Alice entered the room carrying a tray of human food for me. I smiled as I thought of how hard the family was working, as a team, to get me safely through this pregnancy. It was a relief, knowing that we had the six of them here to support us, and that they'd be here to help us raise the twins as well. After all, who knew how much of a handful a couple of vampire-human hybrids would be?

Rosalie set the tray down beside me, and I looked it over with a hungry eye. It looked delicious – steak and eggs and a banana and berry salad. There was a glass of milk as well. I usually preferred not to eat such heavy food in the morning, but I knew that Carlisle had directed them to make me something high in iron to deal with the anemia, so I'd eat it. I was a good patient.

Once I finished my breakfast, Carlisle and Elly took the tray into the kitchen to clean up, and the girls stayed in the bedroom with me. I could see in the furrow of their brows and the concern in their eyes that they were worried. I wished everyone would stop worrying about me, though.

_I didn't really look that bad, did I?_

While the four of us sat there, waiting, I suppose, for my health to show some evidence of improvement, we chatted. Carmen and Rose filled me in on the progress that they had made in decorating the twins' nursery while we were in Forks, and Alice and I told them about breaking the news to Charlie. Rosalie was incredibly surprised to hear how well my father had taken the news of the Cullen family secret, and I just barely heard her mumble something about the Swans being extremely odd humans. I smiled back at her, just glad that she wasn't feeling upset or angry at Carlisle's decision to let Charlie into the circle of trust.

Carmen, who always seemed to know when a subject needed to be changed, took that moment to tell us about the visit she and Eleazar had just made to Denali. It had been awhile since she had been back, or even spoken to the sisters, as our need for secrecy had been so strong. So she was quite surprised with what she found there.

"You know, it is quite common to see men coming and going at our home. The sisters... entertain... often," she said with a slight giggle disguising her grimace. "But it is quite a unique occurrence to see a man, who is neither my husband nor one of yours, sitting casually in our living room. The sisters are more the, _como se dice..._love them and leave them, type?"

Rosalie, through her laughter, managed to ask the question we all wanted the answer to. "Who was it?"

"His name is Garrett – an old friend of Carlisle. You know him from the wedding, I think."

"Oh my god! I saw them dancing that day and wondered," I exclaimed.

"You mean he and Kate?" Alice asked.

"Alice, how did you not See this already?" Rose cried excitedly.

"Rose, please. I learned how to tune out the Denali sisters a long time ago. I neither want nor need a vision every time one of them decided to, uh, 'entertain'. I mean, really, I have to get things done sometimes!"

We all collapsed on my bed in a fit of giggles. We were all lying that way when Jasper and Emmett walked in, followed by Carlisle and Elly.

"Hey Lil' Sis," Jasper called. "I brought down a real nice cougar for you and my niece and nephew. Drink up, sugar."

He handed me the thermos, and I brought it to my mouth. I moaned as the sweetness that reminded me of chocolate and strawberries and cream flowed down my throat.

"Oh shit!" I heard Emmett groan. "We better fuckin' run!"

I barely heard the sound of any of them leaving the room, and honestly hadn't the slightest idea what was going on, so I just focused on draining the bottle of every last drop of liquid heaven. When I was sure that the thermos was completely empty, I started to pull it away from my lips. In the blink of an eye, however, I heard a loud crash and found myself flat on my back, completely nude, with a growling blond vampire on top of me.

I gasped. His eyes were pitch black and he was naked as well. I had never seen him look so much like a vampire, and the sight was so erotic that I felt moisture puddle between my thighs.

He growled lowly. "You are so fucking sexy, Isabella Cullen. I can't help myself around you. You shatter my control."

"Carlisle," I breathed, so aroused by his utter abandonment of his carefully maintained restraint.

"I have to have you now, Isabella. I can't wait. I can't be gentle." He was trembling, and his voice was so low, so husky. I thought for sure I could cum just listening to him speak to me this way.

"Please," I begged.

He reached down and grabbed my legs, forcing them up so that they were perpendicular to my torso, and then entered me in one quick thrust. I cried out in pleasure at the forcefulness of his behavior. He began to push himself into me over and over, faster and harder than he ever had before. He wasn't hurting me, but I knew that this had to be the limit of what I could take. I could do nothing, though, but moan at the sheer intensity of the feelings he was creating in me.

"God, Isabella! What you do to me! I cleared a house of vampires in seconds with the lust you create in me. Hearing you moan while you drank that lion – that is beyond sexy, baby. That sound goes straight to my cock. Fuck, you feel good, Bella!"

I came then, at the sound of my usually proper husband's use of the word 'fuck', crying out his name as my whole body shook with release.

"Oh god, Carlisle!"

"Yes, my Bella. Ungh..."

I opened my eyes to see his head thrown back and his open mouth panting. My legs blocked most of his glorious body from me, but I could see the muscles around his hips flexing with each thrust into me. The coil in my stomach was already tightening again, and the need got even stronger as his head fell forward and those black eyes stared into my brown ones. I'd never seen Carlisle so caught up in lust before.

"It's too much, Isabella. It's too much to look at you, with your full breasts and swollen belly. All I ever want to do is touch you. There's so many things I need to think of and plan for, but my mind is constantly preoccupied with the thought of burying myself in your hot, wet pussy. Fuck, Bella... Ugh..."

God, what he was doing to me! I was literally about to fall apart at the seams between his pounding and his words. My whole body felt like Jello. Jello that is about to experience its second massive orgasm in only a few minutes.

"Carlisle, my god, Carlisle! So good.... Ohhhh..."

"I can feel you, baby. Your walls tightening around my cock. You want to cum, baby, I feel it. But hold it. Hold it for me. Because I'm not ready. I don't want to stop. I can't stop. More, Isabella, I have to have more. God, help me, I have to have more..."

Didn't he know that I couldn't stop? That the way he was talking was doing this to me? That I couldn't even answer him because I couldn't get control over my vocal cords?

He grabbed my hips, turning me over quickly so that I was on my knees, then thrust right back into me. His hands found my breasts in seconds, and took them in his palms as he pulled my upper body up and toward him until my back was pressed firmly against his chest. He wrapped one arm around me just under my breasts for support, and his other hand found its way down to tease my clit, all the while never ceasing the movement of his cock in and out of me.

I was lost. My head fell back against his shoulder, and I turned my face toward him so that it rested in the crook of his neck, letting my tongue slide out to lick him wherever I could reach.

"Mmmm....Carlisle, ugh, so....close..." I panted as I desperately struggled to hold off my climax.

"Wait for it, baby. I want to make you cum hard with me. I want to see you fall apart. Christ, baby, I am barely holding on, but I don't want to stop. Ugh... So good. So tight. Mmmm... Oh, Bella... I never lived until I was inside of you."

It was only seconds later that we both gave in to the feelings and fell over the edge, crying out in pleasure as we came together. Once the power of our orgasms had subsided, we collapsed onto the bed, my back still against his chest. He held me close, pressing butterfly kisses over my cheeks and hair and whispering his love for me while we tried to calm our breathing and my heart.

A moment later, he spoke. "Bella, sweetheart, are you alright? You're not hurt, are you? I'm sor..."  
I stopped him there, pressing my finger against his lips. "Don't appologize. It was fantastic. You let go, and you were unbelievably sexy. I promise you, I feel fabulous. Don't worry, please."

Luckily, that was enough for him. I felt him relax behind me, and let myself drift off to sleep.

By the time we made our way downstairs, it was after three in the afternoon. I was feeling much better, and Carlisle pronounced my anemia to be under control. I was, however, ordered to double my intake of blood, so I'd now be having four servings a day, one of which he said should be carnivore.

I still felt tired, but I imagined that had as much to do with our activities earlier as anything. Oh, I shivered at the memory of said activities. Carlisle had completely lost his shit, and I had loved every second of it.

I sat down at the table to have a bit of human lunch, which today consisted of spinach and cheese ravioli, salad, and chocolate ice cream. I was relieved that Carlisle had gone out to find the rest of the family when I got to the ice cream, because it's flavor reminded me of the cougar from earlier, and I'm sure that my response to that taste would have led to a repeat performance that I doubt my body could have handled.

When I finished my lunch, I laid down on the couch to rest a bit until everyone returned. As I drifted off, I thought about calling Renee to tell her about the babies. Charlie had taken everything so well. I wondered what I could expect from my mother.

When I woke some time later, I found myself feeling a bit like a museum exhibit, what with the seven vampires sitting in silence staring at me. Really, you'd think I'd be used to this sort of thing by now.

"Is there something I can help you with?" I asked, a bit uncertain.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, we didn't mean to startle you. We were just enjoying the twins while you slept."  
I looked skeptically at my husband, not quite sure what he meant. Jasper answered for him.

"It's nothin' really, sugar. It's just that the babies have really intrestin' emotions, and I was sharin' them with everyone else. Not to mention Elly here's been theorizin' about the twins a little."

"Really? You have an idea about them?" I asked.

"Nothing certain, Bella. It is but an idea for now, since your block makes it difficult for me to interpret with my gift. I think, though, that at least one of the baby is an amplifier. That is to say that he, or she, has the ability to intensify the power of others. In this case, Jasper's ability is the only one in the house that can be affected by this, since their existence itself blocks Alice. For awhile, I thought the power was something like Jasper, but now I think not, only that it has intensified his own power. This afternoon could have easily become...disastrous... But Jasper, recognizing the intensified emotions, was able to block it just enough to escape from the house before he lost all control of it. I can tell you, though, the amplification is quite powerful. I was miles from Jasper by the time he couldn't block the lust anymore, and I can promise you that I felt it as strongly as if I was standing beside him."

"Wow," I said softly, not sure how else to react. I was a little worried that Jasper might want to move away from us if what Eleazar said was true. I didn't want to be separated from my brother or Alice.

"Bells, why are you suddenly so sad?" Jasper asked.

I looked up at him, trying to fight the urge to cry. As soon as my eyes met his golden ones, my struggle failed, and the tears fell freely. "Are you going to leave us, Jas?"

He was by my side in a second. "Never, little sister. Just as I told Carlisle in Forks, we are family. Forever. I'm just gonna have to give my little niece or nephew a lesson in reining that shit in is all." He chuckled warmly, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

"Okay, okay, enough of the lovely dovey crap," Emmett interrupted. "We've been waiting here for almost an hour for Bella to wake up and pick a scrap of paper out of the damn hat! Let's get this show on the road!"

I closed my eyes and shook my head, smiling at my brother's antics. It was just so...Emmett. And then I laughed at the sound of Rosalie's granite-like hand meeting the back of his head. I knew something was up when they were all staring at me. I should've known.

"Alright, brother, hand me the hat. Let's see what sort of crazy is in our plans for the evening."

He immediately tossed the ski cap over to me, and I reached inside nervously. So far, none of the hat picks had gone incredibly well. First had been the disaster that was mini-golf, vampire style. The second pick had been the day in Boston with the girls that nearly ended with a human snack. I shuddered at the thought. If this pick didn't go well, I was officially putting an end to the bucket list.

I pulled out the slip of paper and opened it.

_How many damn suggestions did Emmett put in this hat?_

"Oh for the love of God, Emmett, you are just determined to make an ass out of us, aren't you? Bowling? This cannot end well. Have you ever bowled before?" I asked.

"Well, no. But how hard can it be?" Emmett replied.

That was the wrong question to ask.

Two hours later, after Carlisle had thoroughly checked me over and declared me healthy enough to leave the house, all eight of us entered the bowling alley on the Dartmouth campus. Rosalie had taken a bit of convincing, not really sold on the idea of wearing rented shoes. Alice wasn't all that enthused about the idea either, and I heard her grumbling that she would have bought us all bowling shirts and shoes had she been able to See this particular activity ahead of time.

Finally, though, we were all set up with two lanes, our balls chosen, our shoes laced. It was time to, as Emmett had put it, get our show on the road.

Carlisle was up first. He was the most experienced with human behavior, so most likely had the best chance of success without looking like a fool. He didn't perform too badly, really, and knocked down five pins. He probably would have gotten a strike, or at least a spare, had he been able to figure out the correct force with which to throw his ball.

I went next. The large belly and my complete lack of skill made for an unfortunate combination. My ball went into the gutter on both tries. It didn't bother me too much, though, not even when Emmett's boisterous laughter drew extra attention to my failure.

Rosalie took her turn next. It was hilarious to watch my beautiful sister, who had no problem getting down and dirty in a baseball game or working on a car, be so completely disturbed by a pair of shoes. She at least managed to bowl well, having learned from Carlisle's mistakes, and knocked down nine pins. She jumped into Emmett's arms after they fell, the rented shoes all but forgotten.

Jasper stood up to take his turn. This is where trouble began. My poor brother completely underestimated his own strength, and threw his fifteen pound ball through the air toward the pins instead of rolling it down the lane. Luckily for all of us, his aim was off and the ball passed about four inches over the top of the pins. The crash that it created when it hit whatever it was that was behind the pins, however, was loud enough to draw the attention to every person in the bowling alley. Jasper, at least, did an impressive job of feigning shock, and the ball had moved so quickly when he threw it that the family hadn't been exposed. Once he was sure of that, he sat down next to Alice, breathing a sigh of relief, and swore he was done with the game.

After Jasper, it was Alice's turn. In order to not draw suspicion, she had to choose a very lightweight ball. She walked up to the lane and lined herself up before taking off in a perfectly executed approach. We all watched as the ball rolled quickly toward the pins, knocking all of them down as it plowed its way though. She jumped up and down with glee at her success, and then ran back to where we were all sitting and hopped into Jasper's lap.

Alice's well executed turn gave the rest of the family hope, and I giggled a bit as I saw their postures relax. Carmen stood next to take her turn. She also had a lighter weight ball, and that seemed to be a key to success for my vampire family. The combination of the ball's weight and their strength was either going to be successful or devastating, and I was quickly realizing that the heavier the ball, the more destructive the turn. Carmen's seven pound ball earned her a score of six and no damage for her turn.

That left us with just Emmett and Eleazar to play the first turn. Looking back, I'd say we should have quit while we were ahead. But we didn't. Emmett went first, with devastating effects. He bowled a strike, but threw his ball with so much force that the pins were turned to dust as the ball moved through them. Thus, instead of celebrating his score, he and Rose had to create a distraction while Alice ran down to the end of our lane and replaced our pins with some from the empty lane beside ours at vampire speed. And let's just say that their _distraction_, thanks to the newly-discovered power of the twins, was nearly a much larger problem than a few missing pins. Luckily for all of us, Carlisle recognized my brother's distress and got him out of the building and calmed down before he started projecting.

Ten minutes later, the family was all back inside, the new pins were set up, and the humans were none the wiser. Well, I was, but I barely counted as a human these days.

Eleazar stepped up to take his turn. He made his approach slowly, swung his arm back, and let the ball fly from his fingertips toward the pins. Unfortunately, he let put a little too much strength into the throw, and when the ball hit the ground, it broke right through the wood and embedded itself in the concrete below. I gasped, as did the whole family around me. There was no way we could hide this!

Eleazar was in a bit of a panic when he turned back toward us. I felt the wave of calm wash over me, and I knew that Jasper was affecting everyone in his attempt to help Elly. When he was visibly relaxed, he walked back over to our seating area and sat down. I watched as everyone's mouths began moving at once, but couldn't hear anything that they were saying.

_Vampire speed, damn it._

The next thing I knew, I was being rushed toward the cashier's desk by Carlisle. We approached it, and my husband didn't bother speaking with the greasy-looking boy sitting behind it, instead requesting to see the manager. The boy left, and returned with a middle-aged man with receding brown curls and a face that made me think he was under considerable amounts of stress.

"Good evening, sir," he greeted Carlisle. He seemed excessively nervous, as if he had gotten too many complaints lately and his job was on the line. "My name is Casper Q. Tippen, Cas for short. I'm the manager here. How can I help you tonight?"

I couldn't help but notice that, for such a nervous man, he was pompous enough to use his full name on introduction.

"Hello, Cas. My name is Carlisle Cullen. I was here for a game with my family tonight, and it seems that one of my brothers was playing a prank on the other, and it's caused a bit of damage to one of your lanes. I'm very sorry about this, sir, and I'm more than happy to pay for the repair."

I was always impressed with Carlisle's ability to make people calmer in his presence without the aide of Jasper's gift. His sincerity and candor made it clear that he was a person worthy of trust, and so people tended not to fear him, despite the usual instinctual fear that humans had when in the presence of vampires. That's why he was able to work as a doctor, and it worked here again on Tim, who seemed quite relieved that Carlisle was here to discuss a problem that we had caused, rather than one that the alley was responsible for.

"What sort of damage are we talking about, Mr. Cullen?" Cas asked.

"Oh, my brother decided to weight the ball excessively, and then grabbed the Elly's arm as he was releasing the ball on his turn. Thus, the ball fell down with quite a bit of force, and broke through the floor. I'm extremely sorry about this."

Cas seemed rather shocked. I doubted this was a problem he dealt with often. I was, however, impressed with the quick and creative thinking of my vampires – the excuse actually seemed plausible. I guess Cas agreed, as he was quick to accept Carlisle's appologies and promise of payment.

Carlisle pulled his wallet out of his pocket, and handed Cas one of his business cards. "Please call me as soon as you've had the estimate given for the repairs. I will bring you a check the same day."

"I'll do that, Mr," Cas looked down at the card again, "Dr. Cullen." He handed Carlisle a card of his own. Thank you for coming to me, sir. Most people probably just would have run out."

"I'm not most people," Carlisle replied.

_No, husband, you most definitely are not._

We left the bowling alley then, and made our way to the Mercedes to drive back home. On our way back to the house, I let my husband know of my intention to discontinue the hat activities the moment we got home.

"That's a good idea, sweetheart. They really have been quite the series of disasters, haven't they?"

"They really have, honey. You know me, danger magnet at all. Apparently that hasn't worn off."

He chuckled, and leaned over to place a soft kiss on my cheek. "I suppose it hasn't. Good thing then that you'll be indestructible soon."

I laughed with him and felt warmth spread in my heart at his comment. It was such a relief that he thought of my impending vampirization with happiness and optimism.

"Carlisle?" I asked. He looked over at me with a questioning look, letting me know that he was listening. "I think we should call Renee when we get home. I was going to wait until tomorrow, but now that we're going home early, we could do it tonight. Is that alright?"

"Of course, sweetheart. Whatever will make you happy. But I must be honest with you, Bella. I don't think that we should tell her the entire truth. At least not over the phone. Alice cannot see her reaction, because of your involvement, and I don't know her well enough to be sure she can stay calm and quiet. I felt comfortable telling Charlie, because I know him well and felt certain that we could rely on Sue and Billy for their assistance if it was needed. We don't have that with your mother. Do you understand, my love?" He spoke with his usual gentility, but I could hear the tinge of worry in his voice, and assumed that he was worried that I would be upset with him over this.

"Honey, of course I understand, and I agree. I admit, it's going to be a little bit, um, uncomfortable, having this conversation with her when I can't tell her why I'm so far along already. She assumed that I was pregnant when I told her we were getting married, and I vehemently denied that. Now she's going to call me a liar."

Carlisle pulled the car over to the side of the road, and immediately took my hands in his larger ones. "I'm so very sorry, Isabella. I wish that I could make this easier on you."

"Carlisle, I would change nothing. I have you, and we'll soon have our babies. You even found a way to let me keep Charlie. I love my mom, but she's far from predictable. I never even hoped to keep one parent, much less two. I would have given up everything to be with you, Carlisle, but I didn't have to. You have already made this easier on me."

His sweet kiss assured me that I had convinced him. I had spoken the truth to him – as much as I loved Renee, I knew that it would be a bad idea to give her too much information. I really wasn't even sure that it was the right thing to tell her about the babies at all. A large part of me feared that I was making the decision too quickly, maybe just so that I didn't have to think about it anymore. I always hated making decisions.

"I love you, Carlisle," I promised, kissing him one last time. "Never forget that you and our children are all that I want and need in this world."

"The sentiment, I assure you, is mutual, my love."

That said, he returned the car to the road and drove us home.

Thirty minutes later, after I had decided not to call Renee tonight after all and Emmett had finally finished pouting over the throwing of the bucket list hat into the burning embers of our fireplace, the family was gathered in the living room watching Blade (silly vampires always wanted to laugh at the mistakes Hollywood made). I was snuggled into the crook of Carlisle's arm, my head resting against his shoulder. Jasper and Eleazar had gone for a quick run after the bowling alley, bringing back "snacks" for us all to enjoy while watching the movie. I was relieved to find the sweet flavor of moose when I tipped the thermos to my lips, but was careful, for the sake of the family, not to outwardly show my enjoyment.

A few scenes into the movie, we were interrupted by a call on the house line. It was rather odd for us to receive calls on that line, especially now that Carlisle was not working at the hospital. Alice flitted into the kitchen and answered the phone, returning at a slow walk a moment later. She gave a rather pointed look at Jasper before speaking.

"Bella, the phone is for you," she said softly.

Carmen picked up the remote to pause the movie, and I sat up to take the phone from my sister.

"Hello?" I spoke into the reciever.

"Is this Isabella Cullen?" asked an unfamiliar male voice.

"Yes, it is," I replied nervously.

"Mrs. Cullen, this is Officer David Roth. I'm afraid I have some bad news."

**A/N: Yes. I actually left it there. Go ahead, throw your tomatoes, I can take it.  
So this A/N is going to be a little epic, but PLEASE read it, as it's rather important.**

**First things first, as Carlisle fans, you may already know that Peter Facinelli (Daddy C in the movies) is a supporter of the charity known as Alex's Lemonade Stand, which raises money for the fight against childhood cancer. Some of the authors of twifics decided to work together to raise money for this charity, and one of the ways is with an author's auction beginning on 11/15. Find out more by visiting www . Thefandomgivesback . Com. I will be participating in the author's auction, please visit my blog at mrsalreyamifanfic . Blogspot . Com to see what I'm offering!**

**Next bit of news is about reviews and previews. I have been major fail when it comes to getting previews out. That's only because I've been taking forever to get enough of the chapter written to send a preview out, and by the time I do, the chap usually posts within 24 hours. So, on the advice of two authors I admire, I am changing things up a bit. Instead of previews, I am going to offer outtakes instead. The Charlie outtake last chapter seemed to go over really well, so I think you will like this idea better. So here's the deal: For every 150 reviews, I will put out an outtake, and I'd appreciate if you would leave me suggestions for outtakes you'd like to see in your reviews. I will still reply to all reviews, and reviews will still get a tiny bit of a tease of what's to come, just not a full-out preview like before. Sound fair?**

**Last, but not least, if I haven't given you enough incentive to check the blog, here's one more: I have in the works two new fics. One is an AH Carlisle and Bella. I have written the first chapter (couldn't get it out of my mind) and shared it with two authors I'm close with, and it's gotten a fabulous response. There's a teaser for it on my blog. There's also a Jasper/Bella fic, also with a teaser. I hope you'll check them out. **

**Oh, and did I mention the blog now gets daily dreamy Pfach to drool over?**

**Now, business. "Circle of trust" is a phrase borrowed from the movie "Meet the Parents". And last chapter's "Until my last hunt" I realized after posting is a phrase I first heard used by Fiberkitty in ****The Ties That Bind****, so I want to give her credit for that one. It apparently stuck in my head. I need to say thank you to my Late Show bud and ledge jumping rescue woman, BamaBabe, who put the Cullen bowling idea in my head. You should check out her hot ass Ranger Whitlock in ****Long, Tall, Texan****. And finally, thanks to Clurrabella, who despite completely screwing up Dirty-Talking Carlisle for me, is awesome enough to keep me amused with her Late Show antics and her KIK-worthy notes on my chaps. Check her ****The Dartmouth Diaries**** for insanity and her collab with Sparagus (together they are Sparabella) called ****The War Inside****, ****which is guaranteed to make you sob. **

**Love to all of you, please review. I want to know what you think. And don't forget your ideas for outtakes. And check the blog. **


	37. 35 Grief

**A/N: Stephenie Meyer is the owner and creator of all things Twilight. **

**The main part of this A/N is at the end, but I need to begin this chapter with an enormous thank you to Clurrabella. I wrote a good chapter, but Claire made it great. I couldn't have done this without you, sweets. I love you.**

**Also, there is a shout out in this chapter to someone really special, who distracts me from writing far too often, but who leaves the best reviews. Hope you enjoy it BamaBabesHubby.**

Chapter 35: Grief

**CPOV**

Exactly thirty-six minutes had passed since the phone had rang. Thirty-six minutes since my wife's world had suddenly crashed down around her. I sat on my knees beside her, holding her in my arms, and wished more than anything in the world there was something I could do to help take her pain away. Yet I knew that there was nothing I could do but hold her. It was far too late for me to be able to help Renee.

Bella's grief was so strong that Jasper's gift, combined with our own children's gifts, meant we were all feeling every bit of the pain that Bella was in. The empath projected Bella's grief outwardly, and we couldn't escape the waves of sorrow and anguish. The pain was debilitating, though not incapacitating. However, that didn't lessen the crushing sorrow that weighed heavily upon the air as we tried to come to terms with the news.

I looked at Jasper, who was now curled in a ball in Alice's arms. The look on his face showed me that he actually felt Bella's pain much more strongly than what he was sharing with us. He was straining hard, desperately trying to hold the grief within himself. His eyes had darkened so much with the effort that, even with my extraordinary vision, I could no longer distinguish his iris from his pupil.

I glanced at Emmett. He was silently begging Jasper to get out of the house. I could see he was unable to cope with the pain that Jasper was projecting. I nodded to Emmett, silently advising him to act upon his wishes.

Emmett rose from his seat on the sofa, where he had been clutching a softly sobbing Rosalie, and walked over to Jasper. He lifted him up into his arms, cradling him. It was clear Jasper was unwilling or unable to move from his balled up position. I could only imagine how he felt. Emmett began walking toward the back door.

"It's alright, brother. We'll be out of here in a minute. Carlisle will take care of Bells, don't worry. I've got you," I heard Emmett whispering to Jasper as they walked out into the backyard.

A small smile crept crossed my face as I thought of Emmett and his unyielding love and desire to protect our family. He truly was a caring soul under his oafish appearance. A moment or two later, the heaviness with which Jasper's gift had blanketed us had finally disappeared, and I was grateful for the reprieve. Now we each felt only our own grief. Bella's, of course, I knew was still the greatest, but I hoped she had some relief now that Jasper and his projections were far from the house.

I rose, lifting Bella into my arms, holding her against my chest, as I carried her into our bedroom. I laid her down on the bed, sitting behind her, letting her sob softly. I ran my fingers soothingly through her hair with one hand while I rubbed small circles on her hip with the other.

"Bella, sweetheart, tell me what to do for you...Tell me how I can help," I pleaded, desperate for a way to relieve her, even if only a little bit.

Watching her sob broke my dead heart, one tear at a time.

She looked up at me, her swollen, red eyes filled with sadness. "Take me to Florida, Carlisle. I need to bury my mother."

I was thankful she responded with something I could actually do to help her, but I knew that the funeral would be just as difficult, if not worse, than how she was feeling now.

I spoke in a low voice, requesting Alice's attention, asking her to arrange for a private jet to take the whole family to Jacksonville and to get everything packed.

I returned my attention back to Bella. "We'll be leaving first thing in the morning, alright? I've asked Alice to charter us a flight. We'll take care of everything else once we get to Florida. I'm sure that your sisters can help you with the arrangements, or I can, if you like. Whatever you need, my love, I promise we will make it happen for you."

"Thank you," she whispered, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Bella?"

"I'm so...I...Oh god, Carlisle, I wished that I didn't have to tell her. I didn't want to deal with her reaction, and now...now...she's dead!"

I pressed my fingers against her lips to quiet her before she let the guilt overwhelm her.

"Isabella Cullen, you stop that right now. You did not kill your mother. Your thoughts were simply your nerves getting to you. I am sure you never wished for _this_ to happen. I'll not let you feel guilty over this either," I admonished. "Your mother made a choice, Bella. You have known the woman for a long time, you know that she enjoyed taking risks and trying new activities. She was a grown up, and, right or wrong, good or bad, it was her decision to make. The result was nothing more than a tragic accident. It was not your doing."

My speech halted Bella's guilt trip in it's tracks. She nodded slowly in understanding, but it was a few moments before she finally replied.

"When I was young, Carlisle, I always looked out for her. I was the one who was there to stop her from doing crazy things, to make sure that the important things, like paying the rent and getting the groceries, actually got done. When I moved to Forks, I thought Phil would take care of her – that he could be the one to protect her, but he couldn't. Part of me wants to be angry with him for that, but I know that it's ridiculous. I just don't understand how he could have let her go skydiving..."

I gave her a wry smile.

Bella's history with her mother was unfortunate – I knew, even as a child, she had been forced to assume the role of caretaker for her mother. Bella never had the opportunity to be young and carefree, as her mother had always remained, and a part of me mourned the loss of her childhood. Renee's scattered mind, unpredictability, and wild antics had been the norm, but that didn't mean it was normal. She had lived by her own unique personality traits, and subsequently, died by them.

"Carlisle?" She said softly. "Phil couldn't protect Renee from herself. When I become a vampire, will you please try to do a better job with me?" Her voice shook as she said the words, her fear and anxiety over the future not veiled, for once.

I smiled warmly at her. "I will always try my hardest to look after you, my Bella. I love you."

The words soothed her for a moment, but it was short lived. Once her need for security had been sated, another need made itself known.

"Make love to me, Carlisle," she pleaded.

I knew this was a reaction to her mother's loss. It was common for humans, and even vampires, for that matter, to turn to sex and physical comfort in the face of great loss. I remembered back to the day after the battle with Victoria, when I had felt Jasper project pure desolation and desperation as he made love to Alice. If it was comfort Bella wanted, I would surely give that to her.

"Of course," I replied, turning my body toward her and bringing my mouth to meet her lips. "Always," I whispered.

A few hours later, when Bella was still sleeping soundly, I called for Rosalie, asking her to sit with Bella while I stepped out to make a phone call, one that I had been anxious to make. I knew there was no avoiding the call, despite the anxiety and desperate wish for an excuse I felt as I picked up the receiver. I waited three rings before a gruff, yet cheerful, voice picked up on the other end of the line.

"Chief Swan."

"Charlie, it's Carlisle," I began.

"It's pretty late there, son. Why are you...Oh, right. You don't sleep, I forgot," he chuckled at his own mistake, before his voice turned hopeful. "Is there news, then?"

"There is news, Charlie," I replied sadly.

"Is everything alright? Is Bella okay? The babies?" He asked, his voice immediately taking on a panicked tone.

"Bella is safe, Charlie. There is no problem with the pregnancy, but I am afraid I do have some bad news. Bella received a call tonight from the police in Jacksonville. It seems that Renee and Phil went skydiving...Renee's parachute failed."

"Oh, Renee," Charlie said sounding exasperated and pained. "Is she...?"

"She didn't make it, no. I'm very sorry, Charlie," I said sincerely.

I may have been feeling anxious about sharing our news with Renee, but I never would have wished for this.

"Oh god." Charlie choked out.

I could hear his breathing change on the other end of the line, letting me know that he was now crying. It was only a moment before I heard Sue's gentle voice comforting him, even though she did not yet know the reason for his grief. I smiled, knowing that she would look after Charlie long after Bella's change.

"Oh, Renee...Why do you do these stupid things?" he muttered to himself, before his concern turned to his daughter. "What about Bella?"

"Bella and I, along with the rest of our family, will be flying to Florida tomorrow morning. Alice has tickets waiting for you and Sue at the airport. The flight leaves at ten past seven in the morning. I think it would help Bella if you were there."

"Thanks, Carlisle," he said sadly. "We'll see you tomorrow, then. Please take care of Bella for me. She and her mother were always real close."

"You can count on it, Charlie."

***

The next morning, once all the bags were packed and every member of our family, except for Carmen and Eleazar, who would be staying behind in Hanover, had sated themselves as a precautionary measure, we drove to Boston to board our chartered jet. We were lucky in that it was already December, so that our clothing, which covered every bit of our skin from the sunlight we were sure to find in Florida, did not seem out of place.

We had chosen to charter a private plane primarily for Bella's comfort. She was at a stage in her pregnancy where she appeared to be in her seventh month, and the small spaces offered, even in first class, was not nearly enough to be comfortable for her. Not to mention she needed the comfort of my arms around her, and the formal seating of commercial jets did not make that an easy feat.

I had also felt it unnecessary to add the physical discomfort to the rest of the family, who were also grieving. The cramped space and the recirculated air filled with the scent of human blood would be rather uncomfortable, at best, for a large group of vampires. It was an easy choice to make in order for my wife and my children to travel as comfortably as possible.

The flight south was mostly quiet. Jasper and Emmett were discussing, luckily in voices too low for Bella to hear, the logistics of planning a vampire skydiving trip. Alice was sitting alone in a chair in the corner of the plane, taking advantage of the in-flight wireless connection to prepare funeral arrangements. I assumed she was also choosing our wardrobe for the ceremony, coping with her grief in the only way she knew how. Bella slept in my arms, her head lying against my chest. Rosalie, who had barely left Bella's side since the phone call that changed our lives, was seated on the floor in front us, massaging her sister's feet and calves.

I smiled as I watched Rosalie care for her sister.

It had once been so rare to see Rose so attentive to the needs of those around her, but there was no doubt that Bella brought out the best in her. I wasn't surprised by the concept, though. Bella brought out the best in all of us.

Once Bella's breathing had evened out, I spoke softly to Rosalie.

"Rosalie, this weekend is going to be very difficult for Bella. I need your help in keeping an eye on her physical health. We must ensure that she is drinking enough blood to sustain herself and the babies. It's very common for humans, especially when experiencing emotional trauma such as this, to lose their appetites. She cannot miss meals now, human food or otherwise."

"I understand, Carlisle. I'll do whatever I can to make this easier on her and on you. I never liked Renee all that much. You know I thought that she was a terrible mom, so selfish and irresponsible. I mean, she practically forced Bella to raise herself! Not to mention she was a hypocrite...but, I guess it doesn't matter what I thought. She was important to Bella, right?"

I was so proud of Rosalie in that moment. I knew that putting her own opinions aside for the sake of her sister was not easy an easy feat, but she had done so. It was rather amazing that, after having walked this earth for eighty years, Rose was finally beginning to mature.

I squeezed her wrist with my hand and smiled at her, trying to convey my pleasure and pride in her. She smiled back at me softly, and the moment reminded me that, in some ways, I would always be father of this family.

I knew that Rose would prefer I not make a big deal out of the moment. Despite her enjoyment of being the center of attention, Rosalie did not like to appear soft or gentle – she tended to associate those qualities with weakness, likely due to the way her human life ended.

I replied to her in a whisper. "Thank you, Rosalie."

Rose and I spent the remainder of the flight discussing the conversation I had engaged in with Charlie back when we were in Forks – the one in which I outed my family's true nature. Rosalie had made no secret of her dissatisfaction with me over my unilateral decision to tell my father-in-law. She tried to refrain from directly attacking the choice to tell him, instead stating that her problem lay in the fact that I hadn't consulted the family first. She believed that it was a choice everyone should have had a say in, and although I could understood her point, I had my own reasoning.

I would have told Charlie anyway – even if the family had disagreed with me. There was no way that I could have looked at my wife, my children, or even at myself in the mirror, had I not been honest with Charlie. How could I keep a loving father from his child when I now understood that bond for myself? I refused to take everything I'd ever wanted, my Bella and my children, if it came at another man's expense.

"Rosalie," I interrupted for the fifth time. "Try to understand. I did not discuss the issue with you, or any of our family before hand, because I was trying to protect you. What if Charlie had taken the news badly? What if he had somehow exposed us? I told no one in advance–not even Bella. If the Volturi would have come, Aro would have seen that only I was the to blame, and the rest of you would have been safe."

Rosalie shook her head in frustration.

"But Carlisle, don't you see? If you had not told him at all, none of us, including you, would have been in danger from the Volturi in the first place! Do you think it's better that only you were in danger? Do you think this family could survive if we lost you?" Rosalie said sharply.

I put my palm to the side of her head, grazing my hand over her hair in an attempt to calm her.

"There was no choice of whether to tell Charlie, Rose. I simply couldn't live with any other decision. So I did what I thought was right for the family. I trusted Charlie, and I was right to do so. I knew that I had the pack to help me if Charlie panicked. Charlie Swan is much like his daughter, Rose. I knew that he would take it well, though I admit, it was much easier than I had imagined. But don't you see, Rose? It was the only way. My wife, your sister, needed her father, and I saw that it was possible to let her keep him. Would you not want that for Bella?"

Rosalie's face softened as I spoke. I could see that she wasn't really angry about my telling Charlie the truth. I had expected Rose's anger when I informed them of my talk with Charlie, my infallible memory not having forgotten her reaction to Edward sharing our secret with Bella years ago. But I knew in my heart that Rose loved her sister, and hated the idea that Bella was giving up everything for us, so I knew that once she calmed down, Rose would understand my point of view.

Rose looked down to her hands as she fumbled with them.

"It's not that, Carlisle, I promise. I just don't like the risk you took. Had you come to me first, I know I probably would have tried to talk you out of it." She glanced up to me. "At least when it was Bella, we had Alice's visions assuring us that it was the right choice. We didn't have the luxury of Alice's gift this time. I just...Carlisle...I can't."

I watched as Rosalie's entire body shuddered with the weight of what I now understood to be fear.

Rose's human life had been tumultuous, and her early years in our family had reflected that. The vast majority of her existence had been emotionally monotonous at the best of times. She had worked hard to overcome her past life and almost felt rather invincible once she had become accustomed to this lifestyle. That had all changed when Victoria came into our lives. Victoria had shown us all that we were, in fact, vulnerable, that eternity was not as much of a guarantee as we might have once thought. She gave my family a reason to feel fear, to fear death.

I looked down at Rosalie, who sat on the floor beside me. I could see that the same fear had once again returned to her eyes.

"I know, Rosalie," I said, pulling her closer. "I understand you lost your human parents a long time ago, and your vampire mother a few years ago. I may not be your real father, Rosalie, but I_ am_ your sire, and we _are_ family. I won't let you lose me, too."

Her head rested for a moment against my side, and I heard her taking a few deep breaths, no doubt trying to settle herself.

"Thank you," she whispered, before sitting back up, her cool, calm demeanor creating an impenetrable facade immediately.

I was about to bring up the subject of the twins when the pilot's voice came over the speaker, letting us know that we were beginning our descent into Jacksonville.

Rosalie stood, fingering the Cullen crest that lay against the smooth, white flesh over her breastbone, then whispered, "Family first."

I nodded my head in agreement.

When our jet landed at the private airfield just outside of Jacksonville, we filed down the stairs and into the rented Escalade waiting for us. It was a only a short drive to Renee and Phil's house. When we arrived, we found Phil sitting on the couch in rumpled clothing, a framed photograph of Renee in his left hand, a bottle of gin in his right. His eyes were bloodshot and, with my amplified vision, I could see the wet, salty lines that tears that had marked his cheeks.

He didn't bother to look up as we entered the room. I walked over to him at a slow pace, even for a human, and sat down beside him.

"Phil?" I asked in a voice better suited for speaking to a small child.

With the amount of alcohol that I could smell circulating in his bloodstream, it was probably a fair comparison. Slowly, he turned his face toward me. His expression was one of shock, devastation and confusion. It was one I had seen many times in my line of work, especially in my many years working in the trauma department. I knew he had every reason to feel as he did, having seen his wife fall to her death from fifteen thousand feet. That would be enough to emotionally destroy anyone.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Phil. I'd like to help you. You look like you could use some sleep. Why don't I take you up to your room and give you a mild sedative? My daughter, Alice," I said, gesturing towards Alice, "has taken care of all the arrangements for the funeral already. You need to get some rest before we bury Renee tomorrow."

Without saying a word, Phil nodded his head and followed me upstairs. We entered his room, where I helped him lie on his bed. I retrieved a syringe from my medical bag, as well as a vial containing a mild sedative. I quickly administered the medicine before sitting down beside him.

"I lost my first wife, Esme, several years ago. I'm sure you knew that already. I have an idea of how you feel, Phil. I watched my wife burn, just as you watched yours fall, and while I cannot tell you that you'll forget someday, because you most likely will not, I can promise that the pain will lessen eventually, and you'll find a way to move on and live again. I know it seems unfathomable right now, , but someday, Phil, it will get better. I don't want you to drown yourself in a bottle of gin in an effort to escape. What you experienced was horrible and shocking, and no doubt traumatic, but when you wake up tomorrow, it's time for you to start dealing with that. Do you understand?"

Phil looked up at me, his eyes glazed. "She fell."

I nodded. "Yes, she did."

"She's gone."

"Yes, she is."

"Renee..." he sighed.

I watched as a tear fell, finding its way through his closed lids and gliding down over his cheek. His breathing slowed, and I knew he had drifted off into a dream-like state. Once I was finally sure that Phil was asleep for the night, I made my way down the stairs to rejoin my family, saying a silent prayer on my way for both Phil and Bella.

When I entered the living room, I found Bella curled up on the couch asleep, leaning against Emmett. Her brother's arms cradled her, while his mate's fingers combed through Bella's long mahogany waves. It went against my vampiric instincts to allow another male to hold my wife, my mate, in such a way, but in that moment, there was enough humanity left in me to find relief in Emmett's actions.

Emmett gestured for me to come and take his place with Bella, but my intentions were derailed by Alice's voice.

"Carlisle?" she called quietly. "I need to speak with you for a moment."

I followed her and Jasper into the kitchen so that our conversation would not disturb my wife's slumber.

"What is it, Alice?" I asked.

"There was a message on the answering machine. We listened to it while you were upstairs with Phil. Good call on that, by the way. Anyway, the message was from the police station, requesting that Renee's next of kin come to pick up some personal belongings."

"Phil's in no shape to go, Carlisle," Jasper said. "It's gonna have to be Bells..."

"But he might be..." I began, before Alice interrupted me.

"No. It will be three days before he'll really be able to cope with anything small, let alone leaving the house. We will already be gone by then, and I think – it's hard to see clearly because of Bella – that there's something there that she needs to see."

Jasper nodded in agreement. I reluctantly agreed to take Bella to the police station myself the next morning, knowing it was no good to bet against Alice.

"Jasper, how is she?"

"She's not too bad, really. She's plenty sad, but what she's feelin' now doesn't touch what she was like last night."

His words, though not great, were of some comfort to me. While I wished I could take away all of Bell's pain, I knew that it would was impossible to do so, and I was pleased she had made a little progress.

The following morning, I drove Bella and Rosalie to the police station. We entered the station together and were immediately greeted by an officer.

"Can I help you, folks? I'm Officer Eric Hubs."

"Yes, sir," I replied. "I'm Carlisle Cullen. This is my wife, Bella, and my daughter, Rosalie. Bella is the daughter of Renee Dwyer, the woman who was killed in the skydiving accident two days ago. We received a call informing us of some personal effects?"

"Of course, Mr. Cullen, if you'll just come with me," he said, leading us out of the main room and down a small hallway.

After walking a short distance down the yellowed corridor, we reached a half door that had bars covering the top half. There was a woman on the other side, probably in her mid-thirties, with a stern look on her face.

"Can I get something for you, Officer Hubs?" she asked, her voice strictly professional.

"Yeah, Penny. This here is Renee Dwyer's family – you know, the skydiver? They're here to claim her effects."

"Right, of course. Why don't you take them into the conference room next door and get them settled, I'll go get the package."

Officer Hubs directed us to a small, dark room a few feet from where we had been standing. The room was slightly damp, the cement walls holding the slightest scent of mold in the room. It smelled of coffee and cigarettes, the items that had most likely sustained many suspects undergoing interrogations. There was also an empty table and four chairs in the center of the room.

Bella sat down in the middle chair, with Rosalie and I on either side of her. I squeezed her shoulder gently to remind her of our presence and of my comfort and support for her. My wife's every muscle was taut, unconsciously trying to steel her body against the fear and grief she was no doubt feeling. I pulled her closer to me as I took my chair, cuddling her against my chest while I rubbed soothing circles on her back.

I chuckled softly as I heard her inhale deeply and then sigh, finding comfort in my own scent the way I did with hers. Our moment was all too quickly interrupted by Officer Hubs' re-entrance to the room. He carried a few items with him, laying them down on the table in front of us before he took a seat on the opposite side of the desk.

"These," he said, gesturing toward a wedding band and a necklace, "were on Mrs. Dwyer when she passed. Everything else that she had with her has been stored in a locker on the airfield. Mr. Dwyer has the key for it, and you can pick up the items up from there anytime."

We all nodded in understanding.

"Now this," he gestured toward a DVD, "is the video from her jump. The company has cameras mounted onto the helmets. Out of respect, none of us watched it, so I can't tell you what you'll see on it, but it's here if you want it."

"Thank you, Officer," I said, nodding solemnly at him.

I looked at the DVD as it lay on the desk. I wasn't sure what to make of it. It had the potential to be extremely damaging to my wife. That thought alone was enough to make me want to crush the thin piece of plastic and metal into dust.

Rosalie seemed to read my mind and intervened.

"Carlisle?" she whispered. "I'll watch it first."

I nodded my head slightly to her, letting her know that I agreed.

"I'm real sorry for your loss, Mrs. Cullen."

I looked to the officer who was now standing before us. His tone spoke of his genuine empathy for Bella. He seemed a very kind man, and easily returned the small smile Bella offered him in gratitude. I stood, reaching to shake his outstretched hand. He flinched slightly at my temperature, and I heard him mutter to himself about turning up the heat in the building.

"Thank you for your help today; it was greatly appreciated," I said, before picking the items up from the table.

"Come on, sweetheart, let's get you home," I said, as I helped her up from her chair.

**RPOV**

When the policeman told us about the DVD, I had stiffened. I had imagined a TV screen with nothing but the blue sky and the clouds and the ground rapidly approaching, and no sound other than the haunting sound of Renee's screams.

I shuddered at the thought. There was no way Bella would be able to watch that.

_But what if there was something more? What if Renee was calm enough to say goodbye to Bella?_

The thoughts wouldn't leave my mind, and I had eventually told Carlisle that I would watch the DVD first, for Bella, to make sure it was okay to watch. I could only imagine the questions over her mother's death, and although it might be horrifying to watch, even for me, I knew I had to do it for my sister.

My heart filled with sadness for the girl who had stolen my father's heart and made my family complete. My human parents were never really worth missing–they had cared more about how I could help them climb the social ladder than about me as a person, and I had little doubt that they would have turned me away after the incident with Royce and his friends. Yet Bella, she loved her mother dearly, and I knew the death was painful for her.

I thought back to how I had resented Carlisle's decision to turn me. To be honest, I still disagreed with his decision sometimes, but there was no doubt that the family I had in this life, as unconventional as we may be, was the best family anyone could ask for. When we reached the house, I knew what I had to do for Bella, what any member of the family would do for me in return, and my resolve solidified.

Carlisle took Bella upstairs to rest. Alice and Jasper took the opportunity that the cloud-cover offered us to run out for a quick hunt, leaving my husband and I alone downstairs. I knew what I had to do.

"Emmy? I need to watch this DVD. Can you sit with me?" I asked

"You stopped for a movie?" he asked, incredulous.

"Not exactly. The police gave this to us. It's the live feed from Renee's helmet cam. I offered to watch it for Carlisle and make sure that it was safe for Bella's viewing."

Emmett smiled, and patted the seat beside him on the couch. "Well, come on, then. I know how you like to snuggle close to big Grizz when you're watching a scary movie."

I gave him a wry smile and rolled my eyes before popping the disc into the player. I settled down on the couch beside him.

The movie began with an awful soundtrack, and an advert from the company before the sound of wind rushing loudly by the microphone finally sounded. The images came into focus on the low quality camera and an unfamiliar male voice could be heard giving Renee and Phil their last minute instructions on their jump.

We could tell by the movement of the image of the screen that Renee was nodding along, letting the man know that she understood, and I almost chuckled as I imagined her reaction to watching the film back herself. I knew she would laugh about shaking the camera, calling herself a klutz.

We continued to watch as they entered the plane before taking off into the skies. The camera moved again, and we could see that Renee was walking over to the open doorway of the plane, looking out and around to the sky, and the clouds which now circled her.

I couldn't imagine the thoughts as a human, and with morality at stake, what it must have looked like to stare into the sky, knowing you were about to jump into it.

We watched as Renee turned to the left and looked at Phil. He had a wide grin on his face – not the fear that I would have expected for a human about to leap from a plane – and his eyes sparkled with excitement as they braced themselves for their last moments in the air.

"See you on the ground, baby," he said.

_He didn't know how right he was..._

"I love you, Phil," Renee answered.

They had traveled up into the air for sometime, in contemplative silence, before Renee finally looked down to her feet. I saw her and Phil clasp hands one last time, preparing themselves for the jump ahead.

Someone behind them counted down from five, and after reaching one, the voice called out "Jump!"

I took a deep breath, along with Renee, as I watched what would be the last moment of calm in her life. The camera was unsteady and shaking as the wind blew into her face, and I could see in the corner of her vision Phil giving her the thumbs up. They plummeted toward the ground, and given any other circumstance, I could understand the thrill. It wasn't long before Renee's screams filled our ears. Although, they were not screams of fear, as I had first suspected.

Emmett looked at me with a large grin as we listened to the sound, recognizing it as a scream of pure exhilaration and freedom.

"Doesn't that sound fun, baby? We can't get hurt. If our chutes didn't open, the worst that could happen is a really big fucking dent in the ground, right?"

My husband was so excited that he was nearly bouncing in his seat as he tried to convince me to join him and Jasper.

"Could you at least _try_ not to say things like that when Bella's around?" I asked. "It would probably be best if you and Jasper didn't tell her about your skydiving plans anytime in, oh, I don't know, the next decade?"

"Aw, Rosie baby, I'm sorry. I'll try, just for you," he teased, nuzzling his nose against my neck and biting me playfully. "But you know you're coming with us when we jump, right?"

I rolled my eyes. Even though I couldn't help but admit–to myself, at least–that the sound coming from Renee _did_ make it sound like a rather pleasant experience. Well, until the sound suddenly turned to sheer panic.

We both turned back to the TV, a look of horror on our faces.

"Oh god, oh god! What's going on? It....Didn't work! It's not working!" Renee cried out.

It was hard to watch the scene unfold, but we couldn't take our eyes away from the screen.

If I had been human, I probably would have been fighting the urge to vomit. Renee, in her panic, was looking all over the place for some sort of help, and the images on the screen changed with such violent speed that it was rather unnerving to watch, even from the safety of the ground. The images continued to blur for a moment, before Renee seemed to come to an understanding that fighting against the inevitable was in fact futile.

I steeled myself for what was what I knew was about to come.

"Oh god," Renee said over the sound of the rushing wind.

My heart would have stopped if it was able to, as I watched the scene unfold, ultimately knowing how it was going to end.

"This is it. Dammit, what was I thinking?! Oh, Phil, I'm so sorry. I'm so very sorry," her words were coming quickly, in short, sharp spurts.

I heard Renee take a deep breath.

"Okay, so this is it," she said, her voice suddenly calm and peaceful. "I should...say something, I guess. Um, Phil, I'm sorry. I thought this was going to be a good idea. Guess I was wrong about that, huh?"

Emmett drew a sharp intake of breath beside me as we watch Renee's last words.

She giggled maniacally for a moment. "Anyways, I love you, Phil. Take care of yourself."

She paused a moment, and I couldn't imagine the thoughts that were racing through her mind.

"Bells? If you see this, I want you to know that you were such a great daughter. We had so much fun together. I hope you and Carlisle are happy. Maybe you'll have even babies someday. Wait, can Carlisle have kids? I know he adopted all the others. They don't call you mom, do they? That would just be weird, I think."

Emmett was now shaking with full-blown laughter.

Bella had always described Renee as being scatter-brained, and she was certainly earning that title now. I would have expected either panic, or at least some sort of clarity in her words the moment she knew her life was going to end, but Renee's ramblings didn't fit either category–she was oddly...normal? Well, normal for Renee anyway.

Renee must have turned again, because now the image on the screen was only of the ground, which appeared to be less than a thousand feet away.

"I'd like to get away, I want to fly away," she sang.

I joined Emmett in his boisterous laughter.

What an odd human Renee was, finding humor in her own tragic death. I had to admire her courage. I wasn't so sure I could be so calm, or comedic, in such a circumstance.

"Oh shit, I think I left the oven on!"

Emmett burst into another rapturous laughter.

I couldn't help but find a somber solace in her words. Those were to be Renee Dwyer's last words...She would never talk again, would never sing, or laugh or joke. The feeling was eerie at best.

A second later, there was the sound of a large collision and bones shattering, and the screen went black.

I looked at Emmett, whose laughter had ended as abruptly as my own with the final sounds of Renee's life. We sat in silence for a few moments, contemplating the images we had just seen and the enormity of the situation as it crashed around us.

"I think Bella should see it," I said quietly, "But we'll have to stop it after she sings. I don't think Bella should see those last seconds. No one should have to see that..."

"You're right. It _was_ kinda funny up until her bones crunched. Now I just want to be sick," Em answered, the disgust clearly registering on his face.

"I know," I whispered. "That was...awful."

Emmett squeezed me tightly, staying silent while he held me, letting me know in his own way that he was there for me.

While I loved his cheerfulness and exuberance, which contrasted so well with my own personality, and of course, the fact the sex that was absolutely amazing, this is what I treasured most about our relationship. He had been the key to my survival in this existence. The way he had always been there for me, loving me and supporting me, even being silly when my bitchy side got the upper hand, had helped me come to terms with what I was and what I would be for eternity. Remembering this made me realize and appreciate his importance once again.

I thought back to everything Emmett had done for me, I realized that perhaps I could be some of those things for Bella. A friend, a confidant, a shoulder to cry on – a sister. I came to a silent resolve as I realized I wanted to be strong enough to support her the way Emmett had supported me. I knew Bella wouldn't be able to cope on her own, and I knew she needed me now more than ever.

Alice and Jasper arrived home in time for Bella's dinner. Carlisle had brought her downstairs once again and joined us in the kitchen. Emmett and I had already prepared food for Bella, and for Phil, who I could now hear beginning to move around upstairs. It was the first time in nearly twenty-four hours we had heard any signs of life from his room, and I hoped he would join us for dinner.

"Bells, come in here," Jasper called from the kitchen.

I walked over to where Bella now stood and slipped my arm around her shoulders, my side brushing against Carlisle's hand as he slid his own arm around her waist. I looked up at my surrogate father as we walked. He gave me a slight smile, letting me know that Bella had been able to get some rest, and that somehow, things would be okay.

Jasper stood by the kitchen counter with a thermos in his hand. I took a sniff of the air and immediately recognized the scent as deer. It was only a moment later that Bella realized the same thing.

"Jasper," she whined. "I hate deer!"

"Sis, you just be thankful that you aren't drinking an alligator or something. There's really not much choice being offered around here."

Bella made a face at Jasper that was a combination of disgust and resignation, and Emmett chuckled.

"Give it to me," she grumbled.

The scent, which was not especially appetizing, caused her nose to wrinkle as she finished drinking the last of the contents. She passed the thermos back to our brother before sitting down at the table, and ate her human food in a rush, seemingly trying to remove the taste of the deer blood from her mouth.

"Hey, Bella," I said when she pushed the empty plate away, making my voice as pleasant and gentle as possible. "Do you want to go to the living room and watch Renee's video with me?"

Bella looked at me skeptically.

"I already saw it, Bells. I won't let you see the bad parts."

My sister looked up at me, innocence and love filling her gaze. "I trust you, Rose," she said.

I gave her a small, meek smile as she rose from the table, and I wondered if she'd ever understand just how much those words meant to me.

Taking Bella's hand in mine, I led her into the living room. Emmett and Carlisle followed close behind us. The four of us settled ourselves on the couch, before Emmett picked up the remote and pressed play. I sat there, holding both Bella and Emmett's hands, as we viewed the film. I felt my sister grasp my hand tightly at the moment that Renee panicked. Bella's heart beat raced, and I gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

We watched the rest of the video in relative silence. The only sound being the occasional choking sound from Bella as she tried to swallow back her tears when her mother said her final goodbyes, and a slight giggle from Bella as she shook her head when Renee began to sing. I nudged Emmett as Renee's singing ended, and he pressed Stop on the remote, leaving the screen empty.

We all sat for a moment without speaking, trying to gauge Bella's reaction. Each of us was lost in our own thoughts as the emotions settled heavily in the air. Finally, Jasper broke the silence.

"Bella, why do you feel relief?"

Bella smiled. "My mom wasn't terrified; she wasn't screaming for help; she wasn't in pain. She went to her death calm and happy, as she always was in life. I was so afraid of what I'd see on that video, but it was alright."

I was not surprised that my sister had once again said the unexpected. It was something I had just come to expect from her over the past several years.

Bella sat up on the couch, suddenly seeming stronger. "Ali, are all the arrangements in order for Renee's funeral?"

"Yes, Bella, everything is ready. I made the plans for tomorrow, I saw the date in the newspaper clipping in a vision. Is that alright?"

"Yeah, it's great. My mom accepted her end, now Phil and I have to as well. The first step to that is to lay her to rest, right?"

Carlisle looked at me with wonder in his eyes. I didn't doubt that my own expression looked quite similar. I couldn't understand how Bella was able to find the strength that she was showing in this moment. I might not have been able to understand, but I was proud.

Alice informed Bella of the plans before Carlisle, noticing Bella's fatigued stance, announced that the two of them were retiring to their bedroom so that Bella could sleep. Just as they reached the top of the stairs, Bella turned back toward the living room and looked to me.

"Hey, Rose?" she whispered. "Thanks. I couldn't have done this without you."

***

The funeralwas a simple, respectful, ceremony. Bella, once again had demonstrated her amazing strength and had stood in front of the small group of people who had come to pay their respects. She spoke about the person that Renee Dwyer had been. She spoke honestly of her mother's naivety, her fickleness, her scatterbrained tendencies, and her unwavering love toward her and those around her.

Finally, as the ceremony ended, we watched the coffin in silence as it was lowered into the ground. It was a peaceful area. The grave was surrounded by the shade of the nearby trees. Of course, Alice had planned this meticulously, making sure it was just right for Bella, and that it would remain perfect for all eternity.

Once we had arrived back at Phil's house, we watched as he settled back into the couch. He seemed to be coping much better this evening than he had the night before. He was no longer drunk, which was a vast improvement in itself–I have never really been comfortable with humans consuming alcohol, I didn't like the way it made them behave.

Royce and his friends had been drunk the night that I died–I had never forgotten. As I watched Phil closer, it was more than just his sobriety that had changed. He seemed to be human again–he cried; he screamed. He cursed the parachute and even Renee for deciding that they should try skydiving in the first place. He was in pain, that was obvious, but he was dealing with his grief now. It meant that he would some day be able to move on with his life, and that thought alone gave us all hope.

On the plane ride back to Hanover , I sat with my sisters as we discussed plans for the babies and our new home in Canada. The men were debating how much concern was necessary to feel about Aro and the Volturi in hushed tones, trying to keep their voices low enough that Bella would not overhear.

The air was thick with a somber tone as we all lost ourselves in our own thoughts .Uncertainty reigned around us, and the only thing that I I could be sure of was that I would try my hardest to prevent tragedy from striking us again.

With a renewed protective instinct, I turned back toward Bella and Alice and laughed as Alice's commentary rambled on about the merits of yellow as a nursery color, glad that we were still together, and that we were still a family.

**A/N: I want to thank all of you for your patience with this chapter. Real life was a bit busy these past couple of weeks, with some major drama, illness, and travel all playing into my difficulties in getting this chapter out. I hope that it was good enough to make up for the wait.**

**  
Regarding the travel that I mentioned, it was actually a trip to Atlanta, Georgia, where I met with JaspersIzzy and JaspersBella to scout locations for the TwiWrite Convention that will be held summer of 2011. This is a convention for the readers and writers of Twilight fan fiction, and promises to be a great time. PLEASE go to the blog, which opened this week, and check it out, see what it is, and let us know your interest (or disinterest) in it. It's at twiwrite . Blogspot . Com. **

**Please give my blog a look as well, as it is completely redone and much better than ever. I have recs up and loads of lovely Peter Facinelli to gaze at too. Mrsalreyamifanfic . Blogspot . Com.**

**Finally, one more thank you to Clurrabella and Sparagus, who saved my life with their beta job, and Clurrabella for her unwavering support and notes on this chapter. **

**Don't forget outtakes for reviews. You're already halfway to the first one.**


	38. 36 Death's Door

**A/N: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. **

**Prepare yourself, this chapter is angsty. I have no further comment at this time.**

Chapter 36: Death's Door

CPOV

We returned to New Hampshire a few days ago. Each day, despite my strongest efforts to the contrary, my wife's condition has worsened, and, I fear, she slips a bit further away from me. My greatest fear – that I will lose Bella – looms heavily over my head at all times, and the weight that such a worry places upon me is nearly more than I can bear, even with vampire strength.

Each of the mornings of the past week, Bella has awakened severely anemic, the twins obviously feeding off of her own blood supply in their need for sustenance during the night. The thought alone gives me cause to be fearful, not only for Bella's health, but for the safety of all humans once the twins are born. If their need for blood is already so great, I worry that they will be much like the immortal children – crazed, blood-thirsty, insatiable vampires that we will be unable to control.

Last night, I woke Bella at three in the morning and forced her to drink a thermos of blood. She took it without argument, and this morning, I noted that her condition was a slight improvement over the rest of the week.

It is frustrating, being a doctor of my caliber, to have only guesses and hope as tools when the patient in so much danger is my own wife.

I knew that my own constant pacing and worrying was disturbing everyone in my house, especially Jasper, and Charlie, who had insisted on returning to New Hampshire with us after Renee's funeral. Charlie was looking to me for strength, for reassurance that his daughter was alright.

I had no such assurances to give.

To his credit, however, Charlie was handling things well. Or, at least as well as one could expect. The man was, after all, watching his only daughter suffer through the last phase of an unnatural pregnancy, drinking down the blood of forest animals thirstily several times a day in an attempt to assuage the blood lust of the two half-vampires growing inside of her. And while I saw Charlie's grimace the first time, and took note of his subsequent absences from the room in the times that followed, my father-in-law never let his daughter know how uncomfortable, and most likely nauseous, the blood drinking made him.

Rosalie had continued in her vigilant watch over Bella. Very few times had I seen her leave her side since we were in Jacksonville, and I had to admit, while I did appreciate her efforts and affections, it was beginning to irritate me a little. After all, my wife was nearing the end of her life, one way or another, and it would be nice to have some time alone with her.

This evening, it seemed that Jasper had noticed by desperation for time with my wife, and called Rosalie to hunt with him. I made my way up to the bedroom with a thermos and a human dinner.

"Sweetheart?" I called as I entered the room of my sleeping beauty.

I heard the increase in her heart rate immediately, signaling to me that she had awakened, and the slight rustling of the sheets as she turned herself to face me.

"Carlisle?" she asked sleepily. "Mmmm.... You brought me moose."

I chuckled lightly at the way the scent appealed to her, even in her half-asleep state.

"Yes, sweetheart. Do you need help sitting up?"

I watched as she attempted the maneuver herself, only to find that it was rather impossible in her current condition. Her belly was now slightly larger than that of a full-term pregnancy with a single human baby, and that, combined with the weakness that the anemia was causing and the pain she was in from the strength of the babies' kicks, was making even the smallest movements exceedingly difficult for her.

"It's alright, Bella," I said gently. "Let me help you."

I walked over to her quickly, setting the tray down on the bedside table, and slipped my arms under her as gently as possible before righting her and kissing her softly on the forehead.

"My love, I think the time is drawing near. You cannot maintain this pregnancy much longer."

"But, Carlisle," she whispered. "The babies? Isn't it too soon?"

"The last ultrasound I did told me that they are very close to what would be considered full term in a human baby. Their hearts and lungs seem to be functioning properly, and from the looks at the bruises forming on your abdomen, I'd say that they are plenty strong. I think that the babies are ready. So, at this point, my larger concern is you."

"I'm okay, Carlisle," she assured in a weak voice that didn't really ring with confidence.

"No, Bella, you're not," I corrected, cupping her soft cheek in my palm. "And I don't need you to pretend for me. You promised not to, remember?"

Bella nodded slowly, acknowledging her memory of the agreement we had made when we discovered the pregnancy.

"What?" She asked, looking up suddenly.

"Bella?" I asked, confused. I hadn't said anything.

"Carlisle?" She paused for a moment, cocking her head to the side and watching me with intent eyes, her brow furrowed. "Your voice. It sounded wrong. But..." She paused again. "You're not talking," she murmured, making it sound more like a question than a statement of fact.

"Bella? Sweetheart?" I shook my head. "What's happening?"

"Nothing, Carlisle," she replied, still seeming dazed. "I thought I heard someone talking."

"What exactly did you hear, Bella?"

"I'm not sure. It sounded like a little boy. That's why I was so confused. It wasn't your voice... It wasn't any voice I recognized."

"What did it say, Bella?" I was growing more and more concerned now.

"I don't know... I was too surprised by the voice itself to catch the words."

I took her hand in mine and rubbed soothing circles in her palm. I had no idea what this meant, but my worry was growing exponentially as my wife told me that she was hearing voices in her head. This was not a normal pregnancy symptom. Not even a rarely-occurring complication that I was familiar with.

"My love, I am afraid. I'm watching you grow weaker by the day, watching your body be battered... I know that you are confidant, in yourself, as well as in my ability to save you, but, Bella... I'm afraid."

My beautiful wife looked up at me with compassion, and I felt slightly ashamed that I was unloading on her while she was so weak.

"Everything will be alright, Carlisle," she promised in a whisper. "I promised you I'd get through this, and I will. But I need your help. I need for you to believe that with me. Please, Carlisle... I need you to believe."

I watched as the tears that were forming in her eyes spilled over and cascaded down her pale cheeks, and steeled myself in response. I could, and would, be the strength that she needed.

"I do believe, Bella. Tomorrow morning, this will all be over. I am going to deliver the babies then. You are much too weak to deliver the usual way, and, quite honestly, I'm not sure if that would even be a possibility if you were strong.

When I leave this room, I will send Charlie to you. Say good-bye to your father – he will have to leave for his own safety, since we don't know what the babies will be like in terms of control and blood-lust, nor am I sure that you will survive this human. He must leave, Bella.

Then tonight, I want you to prepare yourself. I want you to sleep what may be your last sleep, dream your last dream," I said gently, smoothing her hair and looking deep into the chocolate eyes which I knew were likely in their last hours of that color before turning red.

As Bella's lids started to close, I leaned down to brush my lips softly against hers. Just as I pulled away, I heard her weak whisper, "I'll dream my last dream of you, Carlisle," and wished for the ability to cry.

***

Two hours later, Charlie's heavy shuffle approached my office, and I called for him to enter before his fist had a chance to pound on the heavy wood of my door. He walked in, looking slightly confused.

"How did..." he began.

"Our hearing," I explained. "It's much more sensitive than yours. I could hear your footsteps from the moment you left Bella's side, and could discern that it was you by the weight in your step." He furrowed his brow a bit. "Vampires may have the more dense body, but we also have the lighter step," I explained with a half-smile.

"I see," Charlie replied, looking rather perplexed. "There's a lot I'm gonna have to learn, isn't there?"

"Not too much, Charlie. You'll be just fine."

Charlie shook his head, as if trying to remove thoughts that were cluttering his mind. I felt a bit sorry for the man, who had be given so much to deal with in such a short time. In addition to everything he had just learned about his daughter and my family, he had also just suffered the loss of the woman who he had spent the vast majority of his life in love with. He had been so focused on being a rock for Bella that I had not yet seen him take the time to feel his own grief. I was once again impressed with my father-in-law: he was by no means a man of the world, not well-traveled or well-versed, but he was without a doubt a man with great strength of character; a man to be admired.

"Carlisle?" Charlie said, his voice breaking a bit as he spoke. "She asked me to leave. Is...?"

"I wish I had an answer for you, a promise I could make, Charlie, but I don't. I have only hope to offer at this point. And faith. I have always believed in God, and I have to have faith that he will not take my wife from me. Not again..."

I stopped speaking to take the deep breath that I needed, not physically, but to mentally center myself. With my head in my hands, I felt a warm hand come to rest upon my shoulder. I turned to look in the direction of the hand, and saw my father-in-law sitting there, concern in his eyes, trying to comfort me.

"It's hard, I know," Charlie said in a shaky voice. "It's impossible when the woman you love is past the place where you can reach to save her. That will never be easy, son. Bella is my baby, my only child, and the thought of losing her scares me more than anything in this world. And seeing you so worried makes me know that's possible. Really possible. Right?"

I nodded my head, acknowledging the truth that neither of us really wanted to admit.

"I'm going to deliver the twins tomorrow by cesarean. I have no idea what to expect from Bella's body, or from the babies themselves. She's very weak, Charlie, you've seen that. I have little reason to doubt that tonight is her last night as a human. I only pray, despite the oddness of the request, that she will be a vampire three days from now."

"It sounds pretty damn crazy, Carlisle, but I hope she is too." Charlie patted me twice on the back, then stood up. "Now, come on, son. There's a girl in there who needs her husband and her dad. We're not helping anyone by sitting in here being afraid."

I looked up at my father-in-law, knowing he was right. I could scarcely remember ever having felt this much fear in the several centuries I had walked the earth. Exhaling one last deep sigh, I stood, straightening my back and raising my chin, and put my strongest effort into looking confidant as I left my study and walked to the bedroom to sit with Bella and Charlie.

***

It was very early in the morning, several hours since Charlie had left Bella and I alone to go pack his bags and get a bit of rest, when I noticed the first rays of the sun peeking through my bedroom window. I was sitting up in my bed, holding my sleeping wife in my arms, stroking my fingers through her hair.

Bella had awakened only twice during the night, both times claiming to hear the voice of a young boy speaking, despite the absence of any sound in the room. The second time, I was able to convince her to take a thermos of blood. It was that time that her weakness showed more than ever, as she was barely about to hold the bottle on her own, and her swallows were significantly slower than usual.

An hour ago, I had been absently playing with the hem of her shirt, when I lifted it just enough to take a look at her very distended abdomen. The bruising, set very low near her left hip, and much higher on the right ride, near her ribs, was extensive now, a mixture of black, purple, and even a yellowish tone as the older marks faded. It pained me to see how much she was suffering, especially since I knew, in my heart, that she had done it all for me.

The scent of leather and cloves, and cherry vanilla, washed toward me from down the hall, and I called softly to Jasper and Alice that it was fine for them to enter our room. The walked in, moving at a slow pace, and Alice sat down beside her sister on the bed, taking one of Bella's limp hands in her own, speaking to her softly. Jasper stayed on the side of the bed closest to me, and knelt down beside it.

"Carlisle, you're gonna do just fine. You need to calm the fuck down, though. You'll never get through this if you don't," Jasper admonished, clearly agitated.

"I know, I know, son. I'm trying, it's just..."

"I know," he interrupted. "I can't imagine what it's like to be in your place. If my Ali was at risk... I remember what that felt like. But you do have something to do with how this turns out for Bella. You are the only one who can save her, Carlisle."

"If she can be saved," I muttered.

"Dad," Alice whispered from beside me, "She can. As unclear as my visions still are, I still see Bella as a vampire. That must mean that she survives this."

"Not necessarily, Alice. You know your power as well as I do. Anything can change the future. It is my intention to change her. It is my plan to bite her and bring her into this life with me. Of course you see her as a vampire! But how many hundreds of mistakes, accidents or complications could come up to prevent that future from happening?" I raged. I had not forgotten that Alice once Saw Bella with Edward in the future. Visions were not going to convince me. Not today.

A wave of calm washed over me, and I tried to fight it. I was angry, and I wanted to be. Anger felt better than fear.  
But Jasper would not relent, and the calm he projected was finally more than I could fight, and I surrendered to the emotion.

"Dammit, Carlisle! Why do you fight me so hard?" Jasper asked, irritated. "I am trying to help you."

I watched as Alice gave a pointed look to her husband, calming him without needing his power. He sighed.

"Carlisle, please, just listen to me. I know how afraid you are, I feel it. And I understand it. But you need to let me help you to stay calm, or you will not be able to take care of my sister. You are the only one who can do this. Please, Dad."

I pulled my lips into a tight line, and nodded my head. Letting Jasper's calm filter throughout my body, I closed my eyes to let it encompass me, and prayed silently to the God I had never stopped believing in.

"God, I have often wondered of your stance on vampires. I have chosen to believe that you will judge all of your creation on their own actions and intentions, rather than condemning a man because of what was done to him by another. If this is true, then the fact that I have done my best to please you in this life should hold some stock with you.

Please, God, I have not asked for many things in the more nearly four centuries I have spent on your earth. But today I ask. Today I beg. Please, God, please do not take Bella from me. Please give me the strength to deliver our children, to protect Bella, to save her if need be, and allow me the life that I have been wishing for all these years. Let us have our forever. Please, God, this is all I ask of you."

***

At eight in the morning, Charlie leaned over Bella's bed and kissed her softly on the forehead, wishing her luck and reminding her of his love for her. When he had finished, and Bella had softly assured him that she would see him again, I walked him to the door.

Standing in the entranceway, I gave my father-in-law a hug.

"I will do everything in my power to save her, Charlie," I said, my words reminding me chillingly of the promise I had once made to Elizabeth Masen.

"I know you will, son. I will call you as soon as my plane lands. Make sure that someone answers, Carlisle. It's going to kill me to wait for this news."

"I'll tell Alice to send a text to your phone so that you will know the moment your plane touches the ground what has happened. If I could, Charlie, I would let you stay. But it is simply too dangerous for you to do so."  
"I know, I understand. Emmett explained it all to me last night," he said, patting me on the shoulder. "You just do what you do, Carlisle. Just save my little girl so that I can have her back."

There was nothing else to say, we both knew that. We looked each other in the eye one last time as we shook hands, a silent understanding passing between us that Isabella Cullen was the center of both our worlds.

We dropped hands, and I watched as Charlie Swan got into his rented sedan and drove away. Once he was out of sight, I turned and walked briskly into the living room, where all but Bella were waiting for me. With a sudden surge of confidence that came not from Jasper, but from within me, I addressed my family.

"This is how this is going to go. Alice and Rosalie, I'd like you to go in and prepare Bella for the surgery. Rose, I'm sure you remember well enough from your time in medical school what needs to be done, correct?" She nodded. "Good. Once she is ready, I'm going to ask you, Alice and Emmett, to prepare bottles of blood for the babies using the animals that the four of you brought back here last night, and then wait for the babies in the living room. Rosalie and Jasper will be with me in the delivery. Rose because she's been to medical school and has the training needed to help me if necessary, and Jasper because we may need to use his gift. I have the strongest faith in both your abilities to handle the scent in that room, but I implore you, if you feel your control slip in the slightest, run. Run and do not stop until you sink your teeth into the first animal you come across in the forest. Do not try to overcome the urge – this is your sister, my wife. I beg you not to take any chance with her life. Do you understand?"

They both nodded their heads solemnly, and I noticed Emmett grinning.

"What, Emmett?" I asked.

"Good to have you back is all, Dad," he said with a grin.

And it was in that moment that I realized he was right. I felt like myself. Like Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Like I could do this. Save Bella. Deliver our children. I could do this.

My attitude seemed to have rubbed off on everyone else in the room, and, as I looked around, I saw that everyone had straightened their posture and wore matching determined looks. And that's when it occurred to me that I had been wrong just a moment ago. _I _could not do this. But _we _could.

***

I talked Bella, Rosalie and Jasper through the procedure of the cesarean before I began it. I explained to them that I would be giving Bella a shot in her spine that would numb her body, preventing her from feeling the pain of the incisions I would be making. Bella grimaced for a fraction of a second as I took out the needle, but with her siblings each holding one of her hands, and Jasper exuding powerful levels of serenity, she handled it well.

Once she was lying on her back on the table, I picked up the scalpel. I looked at Rose and Jasper one last time, silently questioning their readiness. They both nodded, the determination still prominent in their expressions. I took one last deep breath, more of a habit than a necessity, and brought the blade down onto her abdomen. My cut immediately brought her sweetly scented blood to the surface, and I took note of the ceasing of breathing in the two vampires behind me. I felt a small stab of pride in that moment, especially for Jasper, who had clearly come so far.

"Thank you, Carlisle," he whispered, obviously having felt the emotion I was emitting. I turned to him for a split second and nodded, then returned my focus to my wife.

The next few moments felt more like a science experiment to me than anything. As I opened up my wife, I was fascinated by what I found. Her internal organs were obviously as they should have been, but when I tried to cut through the thick muscle of her uterus, I found that it was more firm than I had become accustomed to in humans. I set the scalpel on the table and used only my hands to try to discover what I was dealing with.

After careful examination, I realized that, inside of Bella's womb, there was a thin lining, almost like a plating, of some stronger makeup than anything human. The scalpel would not piece it, but I had learned long ago that certain parts of the vampire anatomy were sharper than metal blades.

"Rosalie? Can you come here please?" I called.  
My daughter walked toward the operating table slowly, exhibiting extreme caution, doing her best not to overwhelm herself with the scent of Bella's blood as she got closer to it.

"You're doing well, Rose. Stay calm as you are. I'm going to need your help to open Bella."  
Rosalie looked up at me, her face showing a slight panic. I glanced pointedly at Jasper, and felt the wave of calm wash over the room, and Rosalie's face relaxed.

"Look, dear," I said, pointing at the incision I had made. "It seems that the vampire component of the pregnancy has made a slight alteration to Bella's body. Her uterus has what feels like a thin plating underneath it, too strong for me to cut with the metal blade. I believe, though, that our fingernails are strong enough to do the job, and yours are much longer than mine. Would you mind?"

Rosalie reached down toward Bella's flesh, her index finger extended, and was just about to attempt the cut when Bella interrupted.

"Wait!" she cried in her weakened voice.

"What is it, sweetheart?" I asked, looking up to her face.

Her hand, which was not numb from the spinal, reached up to capture my own.

"Carlisle," she breathed. "Don't forget the name. The one I told you last night."

"Isabella Marie Cullen, don't you talk that way. Don't you dare speak to me like you won't be here to name the children yourself. We are getting through this, Bella. You and me. I will not lose you."

The confidence that she no doubt heard in my voice was such a departure from the emotions that had weighed me down the past few days that she did not even attempt to argue with me. Instead, she smiled, nodding her head slightly, and laid her arm back on the table.

"Continue then," she whispered.

I nodded to Rose, who pressed the tip of her fingernail against Bella's flesh, and pressed down. I could hear the sound, probably indiscernible to my wife, of the nail against the metal-like material, and it sent a shiver down my spine. Nonetheless, it was working. Rosalie cut a line from the top to the bottom of Bella's uterus, realizing, just as I had, that the entire organ would have to be removed after the children, as there was no way to repair it properly.

When she was done, Rosalie stepped away, and I assumed my position once again.

"Alright, Bella, my love, are you ready to meet our children?" I asked with a gentle smile.

She returned my smile with a slight curl of her lips, all that she was strong enough for at this moment.

I pulled the sides of the open uterus apart slightly, and reached in, pulling out the first baby, careful not to injure it on the slightly sharp edges of Rosalie's incision.

I turned the first baby over. I sighed looking at her. She was more beautiful than I had ever imagined she would be. Her hair, a golden blond that mirrored my own, was rather long for a newborn, and waved, and it was Bella's doe-like chocolate eyes that looked back at me from the eyes of this child. Her face was the shape of a perfect heart, just like that of her mother's, and her tiny pink lips were formed into a bow.

In that instant, I understood every single emotion that Charlie had ever expressed to me in regards to Bella. This baby, this beautiful tiny baby, was _my _little girl.

I passed the little blond angel, who as of yet had not made a peep, to her mother, whose weakness seemed to dissipate as I pulled the child from her womb, and who was quite eager to meet her daughter.

With the little girl safely in the arms of her mother, I returned to the task at hand, reaching once again into Bella's open abdomen to retrieve the second little bundle, who was curled up in a ball near the top of the uterus, just under Bella's ribs. The baby screamed a bit as it was exposed to the cool air, and I turned it over, looking, for the very first time, into the eyes of my son. I beamed at him, venom filling my eyes to the point that he was slightly blurred. _My son._

He was beautiful. My own eyes, blue like English topaz, stared back at me from the eyes of the boy, a mop of wavy brown hair already covering his head. His cheeks were slightly pudgy already, and bright red with the exertion of his squealing. His lips, I could see, were very similar to my own as well.

_My son. Our son. Our son and our daughter. Our children._

The thoughts were passing through my mind quickly, like tumbleweed blowing through the desert during a windstorm. They continued to pass by in circles, over and over, as I stood, dumbfounded, with my son in my arms, staring at my wife, who was holding our daughter.

Just a second later, though, the moment was broken by Bella's yelp.

"No! No, Lily, you don't bite Mommy," Bella scolded.

"Are you alright?" I asked, rushing to my wife's side.

"Yes, yes, fine... It just surprised me is all. Hurt a bit too, but not more than I could handle," Bella replied.

I reached down with one hand and brushed a stray hair off of Bella's face. "You did it, my love. I'm so proud of you," I whispered. "Now take Oliver while his Papa finishes your surgery."

I grinned widely at the sight of her, our children in her arms, and then turned back to focus on the task ahead. It was a simple surgery – a hysterectomy – and I worked through it quickly, wanting this whole experience to be over so that we could move on with out lives.

Just as I was placing the final stitch, though, the worst finally happened. Bella's scream tore through the air, piercing the calm atmosphere that we had so carefully constructed. The scream expressed such terrible pain that I swore I could feel it myself, until I realized that Jasper was on his knees behind me, screaming as well with the pain that he was absorbing from my wife.

_What was happening?_

It took only a moment to discover the answer. It seems that, unlike our little girl, our son had venom in his system, and, like his sister before him, had bitten his mother. She was now screaming with the intense pain that the venom was causing.

"Emmett!" I cried out, barely containing my panic. "Alice!"

They both came running in, stopping short when the scent of Bella's blood, some of which was still freshly spilled on the floor, overcame them.

"Emmett, get Jasper out of here. He can't take it right now! It's not safe!"

My bear of a son did not waste a moment, lifting Jasper up and running straight out of the open window and into the woods. I immediately felt relief from the intense pain, but knowing that Bella did not moved me quickly into action.

"Alice, Rosalie, I need you to take the babies. Take them from Bella now, before she injures them as she spasms from the pain! Get them out of this room and take care of them until I can. The venom has already entered Bella's blood, there's nothing to do not but let her continue the change. I need to bite her, though. She needs more venom, or the change will be too difficult for her already weakened body to handle."  
The girls, who each held a baby in her arms, looked up at me once more.

"Go!" I cried, desperately needing to begin.

As soon as the room was empty but for Bella and me, I leaned down over her, bringing my lips close to her ear.

"I'm sorry my love, this is going to be painful. I wish I could prevent that for you, but there is truly no way. But I know this is what you wanted. While you suffer, my love, remember me. Remember the enormity of my love for you, our love for each other. Remember everything good you have known in this life. I will be waiting for you when you wake."

With that said, I placed one final kiss on Bella's lips, the last time I would kiss her while she was human, and then sank my teeth into the buttery-soft skin of her neck.

**A/N: I have to start with a few thanks. The first goes to BamaBabe, my amazing friend, who gave me the confidence I needed to write this chapter. Without her, I might still be staring at the screen. **

**Secondly, I need to thank E, whose music helped keep me focused and inspired while I wrote this chapter. Please check him out, he's absolutely amazing. He is on www . Myspace . Com / ericdisanto Or you can go to my blog and get it from there. He really is increbible thourgh.**

**And finally, a big thank you to all the girls who Wced with me, especially Lexy and Giselle. The WC was amazing, and I am so proud to have finished since I didn't know I would write that much!**

**Thank yous done, I need to remind you about TwiWrite, the Twlight fanfiction, which will be help Summer 2011. Please go to our blog, http: //www . Myspace . Com / ericdisanto.**

**Finally, please check my blog, For The Love of Carlisle, for important news on my fics. The address is http:// mrsalreyamifanfic . Myspace . Com A posted a new C/B, AH. Please check it out.**

**And please, review! We're only a few reviews short of outtake #1. **


	39. 37 Newborn

**A/N: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. I think that'd be rather obvious by now... **

**Thanks for all the reviews last chapter, I'm so pleased by the response it got. I hope that this one will live up to it. **

**Thank you so much to JCM089, who seriously gchatted 2 pages of Twilight to me for the flashback. You rock, girlie. Thanks due as well to BamaBabe, who always talks me off the ledge. I 3 you hard, babe. Also thanks to LexyW28 who is always there with a WC, and KC and Chris for talking the lemon out with me. **

Chapter 37: Newborn

BPOV

_Holy mother... god damn.. hell shit fuck! Aaahhh!_

I'm not completely sure what I sounded like on the outside, but I was raging on the inside. I didn't understand what was happening. Why wasn't I dead? Surely it wasn't possible to live through the pain I was feeling. I had been holding the babies, and suddenly, this intense burning came over me...

_Oh. _

Now it all made sense. I was burning because I was changing. It was the same intense pain that I had felt when James bit me in the ballet studio years ago. _Yeah, that's not a pain you forget._ The only part that confused me was that Carlisle hadn't bitten me. Neither had Jasper, or even Rose. But Oliver had. Was he venomous even when Lily was not?

It was so loud inside my head, as if I could actually hear the screaming flames as they scorched their way through my veins. It took me a few moments, though, to realize that that screaming was coming from me.

My eyes were closed tightly, every single muscle in my body clenched tightly, my hands in fists, trying furiously to brace myself against the pain that wouldn't stop. But it didn't help. So I screamed.

Then, through the haze of pain and the cacophony inside my head, I heard the sweetest voice that I had ever known. _Carlisle. My Carlisle. He's still here..._ That meant I was still alive.

I tried hard to focus on the sound of his voice, but the pain was just too much. Focus wasn't possible. Maybe I could hear him better if I wasn't screaming? I tried to focus on that, but I couldn't do that either. I couldn't think at all. At least not about anything but the burning.

_Make it stop, Carlisle. Take the pain away. Help me._

My mind wanted to scream out to him to do whatever it took to stop the pain. Kill me, even. Just make it stop. But I fought the urge. I had to get through this...three days of this... So that we could be together forever. And I had to make this easier on him.

Using every but of mental strength I could rouse, I tried to command my body to still. It didn't, not completely, but I could feel that I was merely twitching, which was a marked improvement over the full body spasms I had been in.

And then I felt it. His cool breath against my ear, as he whispered to me.

"I'm...love, ... painful...Wish... prevent... no way... You wanted... Suffer, my love. ... Remember everything... when you wake."

I was pretty sure that what I could hear was not all of what he was saying. I just couldn't hear. I couldn't listen. It was just... Too hard.

The next thing I knew, I felt a searing pain, different from the burning, on my neck. My back arched uncontrollably against the pain, and I let out another piercing scream before I understood what was happening.

Carlisle was biting me.

***

Time had passed. How much, I couldn't say. It seemed like forever. Months. Years, even. I was still lying on the pyre, the human sacrifice to some angry deity, burning alive.

I had managed to stop screaming, for the most part. Every once in awhile, the burn would suddenly intensify, and I wasn't able to contain the wail that clawed at my throat.

I was able to hear a bit more around me, now. I heard the smooth, honeyed tone of a man. It was very rare that I could make out his words, so I simply took comfort in the sound of his voice. It was soothing, and I was sure that I should know whose it was. If only I could hear his words... I struggled, trying to achieve enough clarity in my mind to remember, but was instead overcome by the pain and shrieked. Eventually I stopped trying.

A few times, I could hear the tinkling soprano, accompanied by a deep, smooth voice, but they never stayed long. I searched through the memories, stored in files that were already smoking as they went up in flames, but could not discover where these voices fit.

Why couldn't I remember? I knew, _knew__,_ that these were people who mattered to me. Or people who hated me. One way or another, because they would not sit and talk while I burned here otherwise.

Frustrated, I let out another long, piercing scream.

***

Pain. My God, the pain. When was it going to end? I had been on fire for so long that I couldn't understand why I was still able to think. Why I was still alive. But my heart was beating – albeit incredibly fast – so I knew that I was. I needed it to end. Now. I screamed once again, unable to contain it. Sometimes, I thought that the screaming helped. It was, if nothing else, an outlet for my agony.

My fingertips, my toes and heels, even my hair... Every part of me hurt. My mind had come to some sort of understanding of what was happing by now, and I had a very clear mental image of myself, laying on a block of cement, covered in bright orange flames. The part I could not understand, though, was why my body was not turning to ash. How long would it take to end?

Just as that thought passed through my mind, I heard the slight creaking noise that always accompanied new voices, and then the soft thudding of feet approaching me. I felt something warm be placed by my side, and started to panic. _Is something being added to my fire?_

But then, it dissipated. That inferno that had raged so fiercely for all that time was gone, replaced by something that felt more like a bad sunburn. I had no idea why. But I did know that whatever was now at my side had a heartbeat, and it was much slower than mine.

Wait, slower than mine? Little bits and pieces of pictures started to appear, as one by one, my memories flooded back into my mind. And the first one to fully develop was of me, my belly swollen and rounded, with a golden-haired man, who I immediately recognized as Carlisle, on his knees in front of me, his head pressed against my belly.

The babies. Their heartbeats were very slow.

The next image came into focus: my daughter, her wavy golden hair an exact match for her fathers, looking up at me with large, deep brown eyes. She was beautiful. The most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life. I remembered touching her cheek, feeling the softness of her skin, slightly cooler than my own.

A third picture. This time a boy. My son. His head was topped with thick waves of chestnut hair, the color so like my own. He looked up at me with striking blue eyes, and I pulled him in close to me. And then, just as his sister had done, he turned his face toward me and bit my chest. I scolded him softly, smiling down at his innocent face, and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

His bite had caused this pain to begin. I didn't fault him. I knew that he didn't know better. Was it him then, now beside me, easing my pain?

My question, which I had not voiced aloud, was answered by that honeyed voice I loved so dearly.

"Bella, my love, I think you can hear me now. That's Lily with you. She wanted to be near you, and it seems that she has some sort of ability that is easing your suffering. I'm so happy that your pain is at least manageable now, sweetheart. It's been two days already, so you've not much longer left. I'm so proud of you, Bella. You've been so brave."

Carlisle kept talking, and I kept listening. There was still enough pain to make me quite uncomfortable, and I was afraid to open my mouth to speak, fearing that some evidence of my torture would escape instead. So I laid quietly, taking comfort in the warm bundle beside me, counting the time by the metronome of her heart, and listening to Carlisle as he reminded me of the promise of our future.

***

Time continued to pass, and I continued to burn, though the pain stayed at that much easier to handle level from the time Lily was laid by my side. Carlisle told me about my life, about my family – human, vampire, wolves; the whole lot, and he told of how we fell in love. It was a beautiful story, sad in some parts, truly joyful in others. I was so grateful to him for passing the time with me in this way, as it distracted me from the pain and helped me solidify the memories in my new mind.

I could tell that my brain had expanded in many of the ways that my family had described to me. I could hear so many different things in the house all at once, and I knew that most of those sounds were not in the room with me. Not only could I hear all of those things, but I could _listen_ to all of them as well. It was odd. I could do it, but it was confusing me. A lot. So I tried to stop. But when I did that, I couldn't hear Carlisle anymore, and I didn't want to lose his voice. It was what was tethering me to reality.

Suddenly, something changed. The pain became more intense, and I heard Carlisle's voice, still telling me the story of Charlie and Sue's wedding, suddenly resonating with worry. My heart began beating harder, faster, seeming to be frantic. I heard several sets of footsteps running toward me at a very fast speed. And then, everything erupted into mass chaos. Everyone was talking at once, and it was too much for me to follow. I began to panic, and then, even worse, the pain intensified to a level that I simply could not withstand without screaming and seizing. I felt my body fold inward, and a long, high wail rang from deep within, joined by a deeper one, filling the room with the sound of pain.

Just as I was sure that I was dead, everything ended. The pain, the screaming, the noise... Everything. I let my limbs fall back, relaxed, onto the bed I was lying on, and let the silence encompass me. A moment or two passed, with no way of measuring time.

_Where was Lily? She had a heartbeat. _I was pretty well certain mine was over and done with though. I was a little nervous, honestly, so I decided to keep my eyes closed for a bit longer.

Using my other senses, I tried to take in my surroundings. I inhaled deeply. _Christmas_, I thought immediately. It was a mixture of apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, and spruce, with the cinnamon and spruce being the strongest components. _Carlisle_. My Carlisle was still here with me, I knew that now. His scent was close by, just off to my right.

I inhaled again. There were many scents in the room, most of them wood, leather, cotton... I detected the scents of my siblings lingering in the room, but I could tell they weren't here... The scents seemed... Older?

I listened carefully. Heartbeats. Two of them, beating slowly, steadily. The slide of flesh against some soft material...satin? Silk? Cars, far off in the distance. Miles away, I suspected. Leaves rustling in the trees. Every sound that I could hear was quite a distance from me. My immediate surroundings were filled with silence.

"Bella? Sweetheart?" Came the soft voice of my husband. I recognized it immediately, even though the quality of his voice had changed quite a bit. It was thicker now, more of a chord than a single note. It was more beautiful than ever.

Wanting to see if his looks had changed as well, I slowly opened my eyes. It was overwhelming at first, to see everything in my bedroom with this new vision. It was as if I was looking at everything through a magnifying glass. I could see each fiber of the fabrics, each line in the wood of the bed frame, all with such clarity.

I blinked several times, trying to make it go away. I just wanted to _see_. This was... Confusing.

"Bella?" Carlisle called again, this time sounding slightly concerned, and a little bit insistent.

I looked over in his direction, trying to block out the millions of mental stimuli other than the gorgeous man I saw standing before me.

_Wow._ I had thought he was gorgeous before. But with these new eyes? Wow.

I wanted to touch him, to see what he felt like to me now. I tried to slowly rise from the bed, but found myself standing next to it only a second later.

_Okay. I move very quickly now. _My mind replayed that day in the meadow with Edward, the first time he took me there, when he demonstrated his vampire powers for me.

"_Can I show you something?" he asked, sudden excitement flaring in his eyes. _

"_Show me what?" _

"_I'll show you how I travel in the forest." He saw my expression. "Don't worry, you'll be very safe, and we'll get back to your truck much faster."_

…

_There was no sound, no evidence that his feet touched the earth. His breathing never changed, never indicating any effort. But the trees flew by at a deadly speed, always missing us by inches._

…

"_Exhilarating, isn't it?" _

I understood now. I saw how he could be so confidant while I was so terrified. Because, while the way I just moved would have made me sick as a human, now it seemed completely normal.

_This was going to take some getting used to._

I looked up at Carlisle again, taking in the concern in his expression, but seeing more than that. His eyes were filled with love. And lust.

_Did I look good? Isn't there a mirror in here?_

This mind was making me crazy. I didn't understand how my family was able to have a conversation. I wasn't even talking yet and I was already completely confused. I was thinking of doing three different things, all at the same time, and I was pretty sure that my body would have tried to do all three too, if I wasn't focusing on Carlisle so hard.

Staring straight at him, I willed my feet to take me to him. Unable to control my movement yet, I was standing with my body pressed against him, holding him against the wall, in the blink of an eye. Looking into his eyes, I saw the slightest bit of fear.

"I'm sorry...oh!" I was startled by the odd, musical quality of my own voice, and stopped speaking for a moment to process it before I went on. "I'm sorry, Carlisle. Are you hurt?"

"You know who I am?" He asked, sounding amazed.

"Of course I do. You're Carlisle. My Carlisle, my husband, the father of my children, my sire. Of course I know you."

Immediately, his lips were on mine, kissing me passionately and forcefully, putting so much force into the kiss that he would have hurt me had I been human. Not needing to breathe, the kiss continued for much longer than it ever would have been able to in the past. Our tongues swirled around each other and our hands were everywhere, both of us seemingly desperate to be as close to each other as possible and reassure ourselves of each other's existence.

Finally, we pulled apart. Carlisle took my face between his hands and looked into my eyes.

"Oh, Bella, my love... You're here. You're with me," he said, his tone one of pure amazement.

"I told you I wouldn't leave you, Carlisle. You have me for eternity."

He brought his lips back to mine immediately, though this time his kiss was sensual and loving. His lips met mine, and he kissed me several times before sliding his tongue along my lower lip, parting mine so that he could enter my mouth. He expressed every emotion through his kiss, making sure I felt his relief that I was still with him as he held me close, every inch of my body connected with his.

Well, not quite _every _inch. But that was about to change.

"Carlisle, I want you," I said in a sultry tone, pulling our mouths apart.

A second later, his entire outfit was lying in shreds on the ground, looking more like confetti than clothing. I remembered making the decision to undress him, but not actually doing so. I sighed. Alice was going to be really irritated.

"Sorry, honey," I said, apologizing for destroying his outfit.

"No need to apologize, sweetheart," he replied as he quickly, but carefully, stripped me of my clothing. "You're a newborn. You don't know your strength yet."

He was on his knees now, in front of me, reverently removing my pants. "God, Bella," he whispered once I was completely naked, "How is it possible that you are even more beautiful than you were before?"

He didn't wait for me to answer, which was probably a good thing, since my newly-vamped brain was literally coming up with hundreds of answers to his question and I couldn't seem to find a way to focus on any of them. Instead, as I was puzzling over the static in my head, he brought his mouth directly over my center and licked up my slit with his tongue. There were at least ten things about that action that shocked me, and I found myself crouched in the corner of the room half a second later.

"Bella," he called gently to me. "It's alright. I'm sorry, sweetheart, I think I caught you by surprise."

"Wha...Why...H... Your tongue felt warm," I said, trying to organize my confusion as I spoke.

"Yes, it will now. We're both vampires. I'm no longer colder than you," he explained in a soft voice.

"We're both vampires," I repeated, studying the words as I said them, discovering the many meanings they held. "We're both vampires," I said again, this time with a smile. "You can't hurt me anymore."

"That's right, Bella."

That was all I needed to know. I was strong, invincible, and horny. And my god of a husband was just across the room, standing naked in all his glory.

_So why was I all the way over here?_

Determined to alleviate that problem, I stalked across the room toward him. Unfortunately, I misjudged...something...and found myself surrounded by shattered glass. I shook my head and looked around me, confused yet again.

I was standing against the north wall of the room, my body pressed hard against Carlisle's, who was in turn pressed against what used to be the window, only remaining inside the room due to his quick thinking in grabbing onto the wall. _Fuck, I'm just as strong as I am fast. I've got to get this under control!_

I looked at my husband, relaxing my hold on him immediately. "I'm..."

"No, Bella, please. I understand. It will get easier, I promise you. But in the interest of getting my cock inside of you as fast as possible, perhaps we should go outside, where there's not as much to get in your way?"

I didn't need to be asked twice. As the window was already broken, I didn't bother with a more conventional means of exiting the room, instead throwing myself at my husband, sending both of us crashing through what was left of the window and onto the ground outside, muddy from several days of rain.

"Please, Carlisle, there's too much noise. I need you inside me, I need to be connected to you so that everything will make sense again. Please," I begged, desperate for quiet, for sanity, for him.

"Anything for you, my love," he said lowly, just as his cock slipped into me.

I groaned loudly at the feeling of him in me – so different than the way it had felt when I was human. It wasn't better or worse, really, just different. He was warm, and though he was quite obviously hard, he no longer felt dangerously hard. It hit me once again that we were both vampires now.

"Hard, Carlisle. I want it hard. Take me the way you've wanted to every day since our wedding," I growled.

He growled back at me, and flipped me over instantly, pushing me onto my back, deep in the mud. He was using his vampire strength, and I found it to be an immense turn-on. My arousal pooled between my legs, and, through thoughts that questioned whether or not my wetness was now venom, I felt him begin to thrust.

I dug my nails into his back, clawing at him to find some sort of way to ground me to the world. I lifted my feet up and wrapped them around his hips, raising my body a little bit toward him, making him thrust into me at a more pleasing angle.

He pounded into me hard, grunting to punctuate each thrust of his cock into me, and I was moaning out my approval in kind. Opening my eyes for a second, I noticed that I was now laying in a deep pit of mud, no longer on it's surface.

I let my feet fall off of Carlisle's back and placed them flat on the ground, then used them as leverage, arching my back and flipping us in the kind of move that I had only ever seen in martial arts movies. For a moment, I paused, amazed at the fluidity and strength of my movement, but then my attention was reclaimed by Carlisle grabbing the back of my head in his large palm and pulling my face forcefully to his, kissing my hard.

As we kissed, I began using my thigh muscles to raise and lower myself on his length, riding him faster than I had ever done before. I moaned and sighed as I did, reveling in the intense pleasure of being joined to him this way.

Suddenly, though, I was distracted once again. This time, it was a scent. A scent so delicious that it was impossible to ignore. It was strawberries and citrus and the tiniest hint of mint, and in that moment, my mind finally found the ability to focus.

Unfortunately, it focused not on enjoying Carlisle underneath me, but on finding and devouring whatever it was that I smelled.

I was off of my husband and in a full-out sprint before I even realized that I had moved, running as fast as I could toward my prize.

I could hear Carlisle behind me, but I knew that he was far enough away that he wouldn't be able to take my dinner from me.

_Sorry, honey. Find your own._

I could tell that I had almost found my feast, when suddenly, a new scent came into my immediate area. It was a scent that I recognized, though not soon enough to act. Instead, a split second after I caught the whiff of cranberries and falling rain, I hit the trunk of a large tree, hard, knocking it to the ground.

I growled and snarled at my brother, unable to stop myself. I wanted to speak to him, to scream at him, but couldn't form words.

_Why was Emmett holding me down, naked, against this tree, while my meal was escaping?_

"Bella!" He bellowed. "Bella, stop it! It's me, your big brother! It's Emmett! Bella, please!"

He begged, but I didn't listen, instead continuing to fight him, still desperate for my prey.

"Bella, little sis! Please! That's a human you smell! You gotta fight it!"

I struggled and fought, and very nearly overcame him, but was prevented from doing so by Carlisle approaching from the other side.

And, bless the man, he didn't come empty handed. He carried with him a large moose, with antlers that spanned at least three feet, that looked quite dazed. And that smelled delicious. Maybe not as delicious as the scent that I now knew to be a human, but enough to distract me.

"Let her go, Emmett. She needs to feed," Carlisle said calmly, dropping the moose onto the ground and stepping back several feet.

Emmett did as Carlisle said, and I immediately pounced on the dazed animal, sinking my teeth into its neck and pulling that thick, viscous fluid directly from the artery. It tasted of fresh cut grass, cucumbers and maple syrup, and I moaned with every gulp. The entire world had blurred around me - I saw, smelled and tasted nothing but the animal I was draining.

When I had pulled the last drop from the moose and dropped its carcass unceremoniously onto the ground, I looked up at my husband, who was standing, still naked, a few feet away, and my thoughts turned immediately from bloodlust back to lust.

"Go, Emmett," the blond god in front of me warned. "Go now."

Emmett started to protest, but shut up immediately when I snapped my head in his direction, growling my own warning through gritted teeth. He turned immediately and ran, muttering something about newborns on his way.

Taking full advantage of his absence immediately, I turned back toward Carlisle and leapt at him, pouncing upon him as if he were another of my prey. And in a way, he was.

My pounce pressed us both into a tree, and I immediately attacked his mouth with mine, thrusting my tongue into his mouth, which had been opened in shock before my leap, and drawing his own tongue into a rapid and intricate tarantella with mine. I could see in the black depths of his eyes how much he wanted me at this moment, and the feeling was entirely mutual.

It seemed, now that my bloodlust had been momentarily sated, and my throat no longer burned in thirst, that my mental focus had improved somewhat. I found myself able to block out every thing that distracted me from Carlisle, and simply lose myself in our passion.

"Take me, Carlisle," I breathed. "I need you."

"Are you ready to pay attention now?" He growled, the sound that emerged from this throat so incredibly sexy that it caused my arousal to drip down my leg.

I whimpered in response, nodding my head. I was strong, I knew that, but he was clearly trying to show me who the alpha male was here.

He spun us around quickly, so that I found myself pressed up against the tree, locked in by his strong arms and sexy body. He brought his tongue down on my collarbone, one of the few surfaces of my body that wasn't caked in mud already, and dragged it, at a pace that couldn't get much slower, up my neck, right over my artery, stopping for just a moment to pay attention to the spot in the middle of my neck where, three days ago, he had bitten into me to make me his forever, and then continuing on to my ear.

With his lips hovering millimeters above the flesh, his breath hot on my ear, he began to whisper. "This isn't about our love, Isabella," he said, his tone low and authoritative. "This is about need. I will make love to you later, over and over again. But right now, Bella, right now I am going to claim you. And you are going to let me. Do you understand me?"

I moaned in response, nodding my head, my mind so addled by his show of dominance that I could not form words. As soon as he registered my nod, he spun me around quickly so that my back was against his chest, and then pushed, hard, into me. His thrust was so forceful that, as I was sure he intended, the tree could not withstand it and toppled over.

"Lean over it, Bella," he commanded.

I did as I was told, having no desire whatsoever to do anything but what he wanted. My senses had completely filled with him now, and my mind was empty but for the pleasure he was giving me.

He pounded into me from behind, holding onto my hips, filling me completely with each thrust, and then pulling nearly all the way out each time, just to push back in again. Neither of us stayed quiet, filling the air with moans and sighs of pleasure, as well as the loud slapping of flesh meeting flesh.

I slipped suddenly, tumbling to the mud beside the tree. It didn't stop my husband, however, who continued to ram into me at a pace only vampires could achieve, falling down to his knees to keep me within reach. He reached around me, filling his palms with my breasts and fondling them while he moved inside of me. I let my head fall forward, panting, despite my lack of need for breathing, and felt myself getting close to my climax.

"Forever, Bella. Our forever began today," he said lustfully. "I'm yours, and you're mine. Forever."

His words, said with such passion, were all I needed, and I fell head first over the edge into bliss, with my mate's name on my lips. A few thrusts later, he followed me, roaring out into the forest in his pleasure, and I giggled breathlessly as I head several small animals scurry away in fright.

Carlisle collapsed over the top of me, breathing hard, and let his body fall sideways so that he lay on the ground, pulling me in close to him.

"Thank you," we said at the same time.

Carlisle chuckled softly. "I'm sorry I was so rough, sweetheart, I don't know what came over me."

"Don't be sorry, Carlisle," I said. "I needed it. I was so...confused. You were the only thing that grounded me. You reminded me of who I was, of where I belong. Thank you."

He reached around and took my chin in his hand, applying slight pressure so that I'd turn my face toward him. "You are my Bella, my wife, my mate, and you belong here, with me. I'll never let you forget," he promised, love thickening his voice. "I love you so much, Isabella Cullen."

"I love you too, Carlisle," I swore.

"Now, my love, you and I are both filthy," he said with a grin, looking down at our mud-covered bodies. "We need to get ourselves clean, and dressed. There are two darling little babies in our house, waiting to meet their mother."

I jumped up immediately, grabbing his hand to pull him up with me. In my initial moments as a vampire, I had thought of the twins, but there had simply been too many things fighting for my focus in those moments to really make sense of anything. Now that I was clear headed, fed, and well-loved, the only thought on my mind was my children.

"Come on, Carlisle," I said happily. "Let's go home."

**A/N: Well, what did you think? I want to make it clear once again that I am NOT Stephenie Meyer, so Bella's transformation is not going to be rainbows and butterflies. She's a vampire now. A sparkly one, yes, but a vampire all the same. **

**We'll be meeting the babies in the next chapter. It was meant to be this one, but the chapter would have been insanely long, as it is already over 5000 words, so I decided to split in in half and let you have this early. Hope you enjoyed! Please leave me your thoughts!**

**Oh, and PS, so far there are two outtakes written for the end of this story. I will continue add more as you have been incredible in showing your love to me and this story. Please take a look at my profile, as I have posted two new stories recently, and give them a look. Thanks!**


	40. 38 Adjustments

**A/N: I am not Stephenie Meyer, and you are most definitely not reading her version of Twilight. **

**Yes, I realize you've waited three weeks for this update. I thank you for your patience on that. Honestly, I'm not going to apologize. I can't. Real life has been insanely hectic this past month, and I cared enough to wait until I could give you the best I could. I hope it lives up to your expectations.**

Chapter 38: Adjustments

BPOV

Carlisle and I ran through the woods, with me giggling the entire way, as I was thrilled at the sensation of the wind in my face and the tinkling sound of my own laughter, until we reached the river bank. When we came to a stop at the water's edge, I turned to face Carlisle, taking in the sight of his gorgeous, perfect body, now covered with mud, and filed it away in my now-perfect memory, so that I could recall the way he looked at this moment over and over again for the rest of eternity.

"Carlisle? The water, isn't it cold?" I asked, not sure how we were going to be able to bathe in the river on a frosty December day in New Hampshire.

"You're a vampire now, sweetheart. You won't even feel the temperature of the water, it is very close to your own body temperature," Carlisle explained.

My husband truly had been amazing since the moment I awoke. I knew that he had done this before, with Edward, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett, so he knew what to do, and it really felt like he had been perfect in every instance so far. He wouldn't lead me astray now.

Tentatively, I stuck the tip of my biggest toe into the water, and was pleased to find that Carlisle had been right. I snapped my face back in his direction and grinned at him. I pulled my foot back from the water and, suddenly feeling mischievous, darted over to Carlisle and grabbed him around the waist, using my newborn strength to pick him up and throw him into the river.

I watched him as he sailed through the air, graceful despite having been taken by surprise, gaining control of his body enough to turn a flip before diving into the water in a way that would have made an olympian jealous. I felt pride steep through me at the fact that this amazing creature was my husband. My mate.

As his head broke the surface of the water, he shook it rapidly, flinging tiny droplets of water in all directions before grinning at me.  
"Are you looking for trouble, Mrs. Cullen?" He chided playfully.

I put on my best look of innocence. "Who, me?"

Amidst the batting of my eyelashes, Carlisle sped to my side, pressing his dripping body against me and kissing me behind my ear. I was able to notice and process so many things at once – his scent, his body temperature, his exact size... I paid close attention to the whispy blond hairs that grew from his forearms, amazed at the way the slight light that was struggling to emerge from behind the clouds made the little hairs glisten.

"Covered in mud, standing amongst the trees of the forest, shimmering just slightly, you are still the most beautiful creature I have ever beheld, my Isabella," Carlisle whispered, recapturing my attention. "I could make love to you here, on the forest floor, for the rest of the day and on into the night, but I won't. We have children at home waiting for us, and we've let them wait too long as it is."

I smiled at him, the reminder of the twins awaiting our return warming my now-dead heart.

"Come, my love, let us bathe so that we can return to our family."

I took his outstretched hand in my own and followed him into the river.

We had no soap or shampoo, so we simply used the water to clean ourselves of the mud and grime and blood which had collected on our bodies during our hunt, each of us washing the other with a tenderness that was a sharp contrast from the feral mating which had occurred only minutes before in the woods.

I smiled softly, knowing that despite the huge changes that had occurred in our lives these past few days, we were still just Carlisle and Bella.

***

I was slightly embarrassed as we walked the last few hundred feet toward the back entrance of our house, seeing as how Carlisle and I were both naked. Sure, Emmett had just tackled me like this an hour ago – a moment of my life which I highly doubted I'd hear the end of this eternity – but I would really prefer not to flash the _entire_ family in one afternoon.

Suddenly, bright colors caught my eye, and I saw the answer to my silent prayers.

_Alice._

Laying on a rock that I mentally calculated to be one hundred and thirty-seven feet from the back door, was a pile of clothing. It looked rather large, and I wondered why my sister had left so much.

Carlisle and I ran over to it, and I picked up my outfit from the top of the stack. It was a red tee-shirt and a pair of black yoga pants. I was surprised at Alice's choice – while it was certainly comfortable, it certainly wasn't what I would have expected from my sister.

I held the shirt open and attempted to slip it over my head. I heard a tearing sound, and saw Carlisle's face smiling sympathetically at me. Looking down, I realized that not only was I still naked, but I was holding the shredded remains of the tee-shirt in my fisted hands.

I sighed loudly.

"Don't worry, my love. Alice expected that you might have difficulty managing your strength at first, that's why she's left you so many options." He reached down and picked up a magenta tee-shirt, and handed it to me. "Give it another try, Bella. Carefully."

Three shirts later, my top half was finally covered, and I was huffing with frustration.

"Carlisle, please just put my pants on for me!" I whined.

"You need to try, sweetheart," he said, his patience unwavering.

"But Car..."  
"Isabella," he interrupted, his voice hinting at a warning. "You need to try."

I didn't question him again, picking up the black yoga pants and putting every ounce of concentration I had into slipping them over my feet and up my legs. I worked at it slowly, trying to be precise with each movement, finding it extremely irritating that now, as a vampire, it was taking ten times longer to get dressed than it ever had as a human.

The pants finally on successfully, I looked up at my husband, who was already fully dressed, with a look that expressed both my pride at having gotten dressed on my own and my exasperation.

"It will get easier, sweetheart, I promise you," my husband assured. "You just need to get used to the strength."

"How am I going to hold the babies, Carlisle, if I can't even put on my pants?" I pleaded.

I was desperate, at this point, to be near our children, yet terrified that I would not be able to do so. There were more issues involved that just my strength, and I knew that. There was also the problem of blood. I remembered hearing Lily's heartbeat as she lay next to me during the change, and that meant that she had blood. Would I want to eat my children the same as I had that hiker earlier?

I looked into Carlisle's eyes, sure that all my worry was clear in my expression.

"Bella," he said gently, placing one hand over mine, and pulling me close. "The babies are tougher than human infants. You will have to concentrate, as you did while dressing just now, but they are not so fragile as they might have been. I think that you'll be able to manage it.

They have blood as well, as you probably know, but their scent, at least to the rest of us, has not had the appeal of food. I'm not sure how to explain it exactly, I can only say that they smell like something lovely, but not like something edible. I don't think they their blood will be difficult for you to manage, but Emmett and I will stay close to you until you've made that determination for yourself."

He paused for a moment, his free hand coming up to cup my cheek, then leaned in to kiss me tenderly.

"You can do this, my love. I will believe it for you," he said as he pulled away.

His words caused a series of images to flash through my mind. They were slightly burred, telling me that these were memories from my life as a human. I watched, in the memory, as Carlisle's worried face made the same promise to me as I begged him to believe that I would survive. I could see, both then, and now, watching it again, the fear that he tried to hide in his eyes as he said the words.

Blinking away the memory, I looked into his eyes once again in the present. The fear that I remembered was not there today. Instead I saw confidence. He really believed in me.

That fact alone was enough to make me believe in myself.

I took his hand and took the first step toward the house. "Come on, Carlisle, our family awaits."

***

A minute later, after adding a new door handle to the list of things we'd have to buy for the house, once again cursing my new strength and nodding in understanding at Carlisle's reminder to concentrate, we entered the house.

I immediately took note of my surroundings, cataloging each detail for future reference. I separated the different scents easily, noting the two new ones that I didn't yet recognize, wondering which one belonged to which child. I heard their heartbeats, steady and strong, slowly counting each second as it passed.

Turning to face Carlisle, I smiled. "It's alright, honey. Their blood won't be a problem. You were right."

He grinned at me, and then patted me gently on my ass. "Go then. Go to our children."

I started to walk toward the living room, where I detected the scent of my family was the most concentrated, at vampire speed, but quickly corrected myself. I slowed down to a pace that felt like molasses flowing, and then turned to look at Carlisle.

"I'm going too slow, aren't I?" I asked.

"Human pace, my love. You're walking at the same speed as a human who is in no hurry to be anywhere. You can speed up a bit, but not too much."

I increased my pace slightly, making my movement feel more like honey than molasses, but it still felt ridiculously slow.

_Would it always be this hard to seem human?_

I reached the entry to the living room and froze, taking in the sight before me. Emmett and Jasper stood in front of the couch, their posture a bit intimidating, causing my knees to bend unconsciously to lower my body into a crouch. Alice and Rose, who I could just barely see, were sitting behind my brothers, and, I knew from the sound of their heartbeats, the twins were in the arms of my sisters.

I growled. _My_ _babies._

Red started to cloud my vision, but suddenly disappeared as I felt calm and serenity wash over my body. My posture straightened, and my growling stopped, though I didn't immediately understand the sudden change.

As I stood there, confused, I caught a sudden flash in the corner of my eye, and realized that Jasper was moving. My head snapped toward him, and he immediately halted, putting his hands up in the air.

"Bella," he said gently. "It's me, Jas. I'm your brother, Bells, I don't want to hurt you, I just want to talk, alright?"

Jasper took another few steps slowly in my direction, and paused. Then, seeing that I was not feeling threatened by him, he made long strides to cover the rest of the distance between us, immediately enfolding me in his arms.

He held me close for several moments, running his hand down the back of my hair, his other hand gripping me firmly in the center of my back. I could feel love emanating from his hand and spreading through every nerve and muscle fiber in my body.

"It's okay that you're freaking out, sis," he whispered. "You're a newborn, it's to be expected. Your feelings are actually a bit more controlled than most of the newborns I worked with back in the wars. You're doing well, Bella. I know it doesn't feel like it, but you are."

"I'm so scared, Jas," I admitted softly. "I feel like I'm a puppet, like someone else is controlling my body and I have no say at all. I know that I love you all, but I just wanted to attack you. I can't..."

He brought his hands up to cup my cheeks.

"Listen to me, Bella. You are a newborn vampire. The control you have is impressive, and, quite honestly, as good as you can probably expect for the moment. You are just going to have to concentrate hard, all the time, and you'll get the hang of it. But sis, it might be awhile, and that's okay. We'll all help you."

I nodded, holding in the sigh that I wanted to emit, even though I knew Jasper could feel my frustration. I knew that he was right, we had talked about this so much in the last few weeks as I prepared for the change. But somehow, it seemed that the reality was harder than I had imagined it would be.

"I feel you've calmed. Do you think you can handle seeing the twins now? Carlisle and I will be right here with you."

I took a deep breath, which, though unnecessary, helped me center my mind again.

"I'm ready."

Jasper took my hand tightly in his own, and we walked toward the couch that held the rest of our family. After a moment of silent communication between my brothers, Emmett stepped aside, clearing the path between me and my children, letting me see them for the first time as a vampire.

I inhaled sharply as the twins entered my line of vision. Though I had misty memories of them from the moments after their birth, this was something else entirely. I took them in, one at a time, drinking in every detail available to me. My daughter, I saw, looked so much like me, but with Carlisle's golden waves. Looking into her eyes was almost like a mirror – they were exactly like mine. Well, like mine were. I hadn't seen myself yet, but I knew that my eyes would be red when I did.

My son, with a slightly round face and lips that were identical to his father's, had a head full of hair that was the same shade as my own, and which contrasted so strikingly with the clear blue of his eyes – the same shade as Carlisle had once told me his own had once been.

Lily looked at me, her face so tiny and angelic, and whimpered. I immediately understood that she wanted to be close to me. I understood because the same feeling was just as strong in me.

I looked at Carlisle, begging him silently with my eyes, and he nodded for me to go forward. He and Jasper remained in step with me, but allowed me to proceed.

Lily began to squirm in Rosalie's arms, and her cry became more insistent. I could see the fear in my sister's eyes as she stood to hand my daughter to me, and I forced myself to do as Jasper had asked, taking several deep breaths to calm the desire to lash out at Rosalie when I knew her every action was driven by love.

Finally, after what seemed like years, I was cradling the tiny little girl in my arms, holding her close to me as gently as I was able.

"Oh, Lily, my baby girl," I whispered into her ear. "Mommy loves you so much."

The moment was made complete when I felt the strong, now-warm arm of my husband wrap around my waist, our son held in his other arm. He pulled me in close, and I leaned into him, looking up into his golden eyes, smiling at the man who was my everything.

I heard a clicking noise from my side, and snapped my head in it's direction, relieved to see that it was only Alice taking pictures of us. I smiled at her, letting her see that I had a handle on my emotions. For now, at least.

I returned my attention to my husband. "They're perfect, Carlisle," I said softly. "Absolutely perfect."

"They are, my love," he replied with a loving smile. "You did well."

"No," I disagreed, shaking my head. "_We_ did well."

Carlisle leaned in to kiss me, and, in doing so, brought Oliver closer to me as well. I reached out with my empty hand to touch my son, finishing the circle that held the four of us. As my hand rested on the tiny hand of my son, however, something strange happened. Instead of seeing Carlisle's face in front of me, I saw myself, still human, lying on a table, screaming. And then I heard the words "I'm sorry" said in the tiny little boy's voice that I remembered hearing in the last day of my pregnancy.

I gasped, pulling back sharply and blinking my eyes over and over.

"Carlisle?" I cried in a panic.

Lily was pulled from my arms before I could protest, and I felt myself crumble into my husband's embrace as his arms tightened around me, offering comfort. I felt Jasper's power seep into me, more powerful than usual, calming my panic even more effectively than I remembered in the past.

When I felt safe again, I stepped away from my husband and looked up at him.  
"Carlisle, what just happened?"  
He smiled softly, his expression letting me know that he understood how I felt. "Without you even telling me what you just experienced, I think I can assume with relative certainty that you have just had your first taste of Oliver's gift, am I right?"

"I saw myself, human and in pain, and I heard a voice."

"Did he apologize?" Carlisle asked knowingly.

I raised an eyebrow at my husband, wondering how he already knew.

"He's been giving me the same message for the past three days. Jasper has told me that the amount of guilt pouring out of our son has made his own stomach churn. I explained to the poor child that he did not cause your pain intentionally, but he seems to have been determined to see that you knew as well."

I stared at Carlisle for a moment, skeptically. My son was days old, and he was able to feel guilt over his actions? Carlisle seemed to understand my uncertainty.

"Bella, my love, remember that our children are half-vampire. While I still have so much left to learn about what that actually means, I have discovered much already. The twins have amazing mental functioning already – they seem quite capable of learning and comprehending, and they have a firm grasp of the English language as well, though neither is yet able to speak."

I sank down onto the sofa. It was a lot to take in.

"So, the images and the voice that I just heard...?"  
"That is Oliver's gift. It seems that he is able to project image and sound into everyone else's mind. It's almost like a small film, in a way. What's even more amazing is that he and Lily are able to communicate telepathically with each other as well, and thus he can communicate to us for both of them."

Carlisle, I could tell, was immensely proud of our son's ability, and completely intrigued by it as well. I grinned at him, still a little confused, but pleased that he was so happy.

"Does Lily have a gift as well?" I asked.

Carlisle grinned. "You've already experienced it, my love. It is an amazing one – she is what we call a healer. By that I mean that she is able to take pain away, from other vampires, for sure, though I assume it would work on any species."

"She's like you," I said, gazing up at my husband in admiration.

Carlisle's smile softened, and he reached down to cup his daughter's cheek. "I think she is like you, sweetheart. You are the one who took my pain away."

Just as I leaned in to kiss him, I was distracted by a coughing from the corner. I turned my head toward the sound.

"Uh, sis," Emmett began. "First of all, you two are making me wish I could vomit. Cut it with the syrup talk, would ya? Ugh. And second, I've already seen you naked once today, I think I'd rather if you and Papa C here waited until you were in your own room, okay?" My brother concluded his taunt by shaking his head and shivering, muttering something about bleach.

_I knew I was never going to live that moment down._

"Yeah, okay brother. Sorry," I replied, a little embarrassed. I paused a moment, and then looked up at the overgrown teddy bear across the room, locking our eyes. "And by the way, thank you. I know that was probably just as embarrassing for you as it was for me, but you took care of me. Thanks, Emmy."

Emmett looked down at the floor and toed the ground, smiling. "Yeah, Bells, anytime. But if you could be wearing..._anything_...next time, that'd be good." Emmett laughed raucously, apparently recovering from his moment of sweetness so that he could tease me some more.

I didn't complain, though. Through all the thousands of thoughts swirling through my vampire mind at that moment, I could pick out little bits and pieces of memories that told me that Emmett's teasing was the way he showed his love, and I knew that Emmett's love was something I was glad to be on the receiving end of.

"I'll see what I can do," I replied with a smirk. "But no promises. Now, could someone please give me back my babies?"

Oliver and Lily were immediately placed in my arms, and my brothers and sisters, apparently having decided that I was trustworthy enough for them to relax, settled themselves down near our feet.

"Hey Bella?" Alice called. "Rose mentioned that you said something to Carlisle about the babies' names before he delivered them, but Carlisle wouldn't fill us in on anything without you here. So can we know now?"

I laughed at the impatience that dripped from Alice's voice. She still hadn't gotten used to not knowing everything, and though she was doing much better in terms of accepting that, it obviously still annoyed her somewhat.

I looked at my husband and smiled. "Yeah, you can know now," I replied. "Carlisle and I really wanted to pay tribute to Esme and Edward with the babies' names, but we felt a little awkward naming them directly after them, because really, no one could ever replace those two. So we came up with a sort of compromise. This," I said, gesturing toward my son, "is Oliver Masen Cullen. Masen after Edward, of course, and Oliver because it was actually one of Carlisle's top choices for naming his son, if he would have had one as a human."

"And this," I said, looking down at my daughter, "Is Lily Anne Cullen. Anne is after Esme, and Lily is for you, Rosalie Lillian Hale."  
I looked at my sister, my heart full of love for the woman who I had once thought hated me, but I now understood loved me immensely. I loved her just as much, and it was her love, loyalty, and strength that had gotten me to where I was today. Naming my daughter for her seemed like the least I could do to show Rose just how much she meant to me.

Rose's eyes glistened with venom as she stood and closed the distance between us in half a second, throwing her arms around me carefully to avoid hurting the twins, and hugged me tight.  
"I love you, sister," she whispered.

"I love you too, Rosalie," I said, pulling back just enough to look her in the eyes and smile. "Thank you for sharing your strength with me."

Our moment was made complete when the rest of the family surrounded us, Emmett kneeling in front of the sofa, enfolding his wife is his arms, Carlisle pulling me close to him, the twins still in my arms, and Jasper and Alice standing, hands entwined, behind us. We stayed this way for several minutes, my family laughing at my expression as Oliver's gift, which he was using to give me a running commentary on every moment that I had missed while undergoing the change, continued to mesmerize me.

***

The next few days passed quickly in a blur of happy moments and absolute disasters. I was having a very hard time getting the hang of managing my new vampire abilities. I was strong now. Too strong to open doors, too strong to make bottles for the babies, too strong to get dressed. I was also fast. I was too fast to walk through the house properly, as several closed doors had been given the chance to learn firsthand. The basic consensus in the house was that newborn Bella was more destructive than a hurricane.

Carlisle was doing the vast majority of the work when it came to taking care of the twins. I got to hold them (with supervision) and, after a disastrous attempt to feed them, during which I forgot I was holding Oliver and lunged at Rose as she brought a bottle of blood in for him, that was about all I was allowed to do. But I still spent as much time as I could holding them and talking to them.

My husband was helping me in another important way as well. The confusing mental whirlwind that was my new vampire brain could only be calmed in two ways – blood and Carlisle. And, to the surprise of everyone but Emmett, my lust for Carlisle was actually the predominant of the two. Really, it was lucky that he was a vampire and couldn't get tired.

My brothers were doing their best to help me cope, taking me out into the forest behind out house several times a day to let me experiment with my strength on trees and boulders. One of the boys would do a quick run around a perimeter before the other would let go of my arms, to ensure that no human had come too close, since I was obviously not trustworthy if one was anywhere nearby. Once the coast was clear, Emmett would gather a bit of nature for me to pummel while Jasper took me further into the woods to find a snack.

Once I had eased some of my overwhelming desire for destruction, the boys would take me home and deliver me to their wives, who would then spend an hour with me, forcing me to do delicate tasks that tried my patience to an unbelievable degree. Alice bought heaps of clothing that she considered "disposable" and directed me to practice getting dressed over and over. Rosalie bought dolls and had me practice dressing them, diapering them, brushing their hair, and holding them.

It was extremely frustrating work. It was a good thing that my sisters found all of these items worthless, because most of them were completely destroyed by the time I had my hands on them. I ripped out the hair of the first five dolls once I managed to grip the hairbrush without the plastic taking on the shape of my first or the wood (which we had tried first) turning into sawdust, and all sorts of clothing had been shredded at my hands, often when I was picking it up off of the bed before it even had a chance to touch my body.

I was nearing the point of giving up on day two, but by the fourth day, I was starting to get the hang of it. Jasper had taken to sitting in the room with us, helping me by filling me with calm every time I felt the urge to fly into a rage when I failed at a task, after I had come close to ripping his wife's arm off for buying me a stack of lace bras that I couldn't manage to pick up off the bed without ruining.

I had to admit, my family had been there for me every step of the way, and while being a vampire was much harder and more frustrating than I had expected, my outlook was positive, knowing that my husband and siblings would not let me fail.

***

On the very early hours of my seventh day as a vampire, I was sitting on the bench in front of my vanity, brushing my own hair for the very first time since my change. Carlisle and I had just returned from a hunt, and, after making love to me in our shower, and then washing my body of the blood and dirt of our hunt, my husband had left me to get ready for the day on my own while he went to his study to write some notes. (He had been very meticulously graphing the development of the twins every day, in hopes that it would help us understand them more and perhaps even know what to expect from their future.)

I set my brush down on the table after the last tangle was removed from my hair. As I did, I had a sudden flashback to the last time I had seen Esme, sitting at the same bench as I now was. My dead heart filled with joy at the thought of her, for once, the memory did not bring me pain, and I smiled. I glanced over to the photograph that Alice had framed on the vanity table – the one she had taken of Carlisle, the twins, and me the first moment that I met them – and sighed with contentment. I was where I was meant to be, and I, just as Esme had wanted, was bringing happiness to Carlisle, even if I was a walking disaster.

It was one of those moments, which, with all of the irritation and frustration that I was constantly filled with, had been few and far between lately, that I silently thanked god for the life that I had been given.

Suddenly, I felt warmth on my back, the feeling akin to the sun warming my flesh as I basked in it's glow on La Bella Luce. I glanced at the clock on my bedside table, confused.

Three forty-one. There was no sun now.

Every hair on my arm stood on end, and my every defensive instinct sharpened immediately. A low growl passed from my lips, warning whatever might be behind me that I was a danger to it, as I slowly and deliberately turned my body toward the warmth.

The moment that my body faced the direction of the warmth, the direction opposite it had just been, I inhaled sharply in shock.  
Whatever I had been expecting, this wasn't it.

**A/N: Yes, I am a bitch. I left it there. There was no other way. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think of newborn Bella and the twins.**

**Quick thanks to Paolabearrr for previewing part of the chapter for me, for Lacy and Brook for entertaining me on new years, to all of my friends who have been there listening to me complain and vent for weeks on end, and to my rockstar, Mr. Eric DiSanto, whose tunes make me so happy and inspire me so much. If you haven't heard him yet, you are majorly missing out. Http://www (dot) myspace (dot) com/ericdisanto Or link from my blog (mrsalreyamifanfic (dot) blogspot (dot) com. **


	41. 39 Warnings

**A/N: Twilight and all it's characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. **

**This chapter should probably come with a tissue warning, just in case. **

**A HUGE thank you to , whose awesome song (The Bug Song) helped me write Aro's POV, and to NCChris, the Blip Queen, who found me the perfect tracts to write Bella's, and had the absolute weirdest beta-talk ever with. **

**And a final thank you to BamaBabe, without whom I probably never would have gotten through this chapter. I love you Babe, and I can't wait till we go on tour... wink**

**Now, on with the chapter.**

Chapter 39: Warning

Aro'sPOV

It had been a very long day by the time I retired to my chambers tonight. I had been suspicious for several weeks already, as too many members of my guard were remaining aloof with me, but it was not until tonight that I learned exactly what it was that I was dealing with.

I sighed heavily, expressing with that unnecessary breath the displeasure that I found in what I had discovered. For the thousands of years that I had walked the earth in this existence, I had prided myself in what I had created. I was the king of the vampires, I ruled in such a way that my laws were respected. Anyone who did not respect my laws did not live. I lived in a manner that was civilized and fitting of royalty. I had a family, as much so as could ever be hoped for by my kind.

But with one touch of a hand this evening, my world came crashing down around me.

_It began just before dinner was served. Heidi approached me in the passage near the throne room with news to report. Lifting her hand to touch mine, the beautiful vampire showed me her memories of the afternoon she had spent fishing. _

_I watched as the images flashed before my eyes like a film on a screen, watching the afternoon play out through her eyes._

_She was walking down a cobblestone path near the park, and a blur of white passed through the trees on my left. Forgetting her task, she turned and ran towards whatever she had seen, calling out for them to stop in several languages. Finally, the vampire before me halted, and turned to face her. _

_I saw a face that I did not recognize. A young man when he was turned, probably in the beginnings of his twenties, he was of a medium build, his light brown hair cut short, and a boyish curve to his jaw. His eyes were burgundy, letting me know that he was not a newborn. _

_My head cocked to the side, trying to determine who this new vampire was. _

_Returning to the memory that Heidi was playing for me, I listened as she asked him his name. _

_He spoke, his voice soft, but laced with happiness, and betraying an accent I recognized as Australian. "I am Lachlan." _

"_What are you doing here in Italy, Lachlan?" Heidi, asked, her voice seeming to fight for a balance between demanding authority from and flirting with the stranger. _

_I rolled my eyes._

"_I am vacationing with my friend, Jack," he replied. _

_I tensed. I knew the vampire by reputation only, never having met him myself. Very few of my kind actually had, and most of the ones who did were now dead. _

_Pulling my hand away from Heidi's, I looked at her face, peering into her red eyes for evidence of her loyalty. Her coming to me with this information should have been proof enough, but I wanted to be sure. _

_She looked back at me with a smile. "He is here with me, master. I knew you would want to see him." _

I pulled myself out of the memory as I felt myself growing angry again. Lachlan had indeed been in my castle with Heidi, who I was now certain was loyal to me. Unfortunately, as I was about to learn, she was perhaps one of few. Balling my fist in anger, I punched a deep hole into the top of my desk as I fell into the memory again.

"_Buonna notte, Lachlan," I said, extending my hand. I was not sure whether he was aware of my power or not, but I was my habit to greet everyone this way. _

_He extended his hand to mine, and I grasped it, letting his mind open to me, watching as my betrayal played out before my eyes. _

_I saw Caius, my partner, my brother - though the title sickened me now to say - standing before a group of vampires, most of which I had never seen more than once, if at all, addressing them as if he were their leader. _

_I soon learned that he was. I listened as he spoke to them._

"_Why, then, would we allow our own leaders to force us into a submissive position? Why would we allow them to turn us into animals which must be led around on a leash or locked in a cage? _

_We are better than this, my lionhearted ones! And out willingness to stand up and fight for what is ours makes us better still!_

_So I ask you this now: Train hard, perfect your gifts and skills, for our times is nearing. Prepare yourselves in whatever way you need for the battle which lies ahead. Keep yourselves well fed, mentally prepared, and ready at all times, for you know not when you will get the call from me to draw up your arms and fight for what is ours. For what must remain ours!  
You, my courageous servants, are our only hope."_

_His speech was met by rousing applause, his "servants" obviously loyal to his cause. I did not miss that his cause seemed to be devoted to fighting the rule of the Volturi. _

_My own brother, preparing to lead a coup against his own leadership? Against his own family?_

_Deep hurt filled me, met by furious anger. It was hard to decide which was predominant. _

_I decided, in that moment, that I did not wish to make anyone aware that I knew of their plans, and thus released Lachlan's hand without a word on the subject. _

Returning my mind back to the present, I rose from my chair, swinging my arm across the desk in front of me, forcing all on top of it to fly across the room, smashing into the brick wall. I lifted the chair easily and flung it over my head, watching as it broke into tiny pieces against the door, then turned to the desk itself, leveling my own destruction upon it as I used my fingers to tear the wood into splinters and then crush them into nothing but sawdust with my fists.

I fought the entire room in the same way, making the vases, paintings, books, and all other inanimate objects in my chamber feel the pain that was in my heart, destroying my office the way my brother wished to destroy me, until there was nothing left.

Playing the scene over again in my mind had returned to me those same feelings of betrayal, hurt, and incredible anger. I could not understand how my own brother had turned against us so. But I saw, in those images, that he had, and I knew that he had to be stopped.

There was no doubt in my mind that Caius had lost any grip he had ever had on reality. He was power-hungry and volatile and untrustworthy, and, now that he had shown his true manner, he had to be stopped. I could not allow him, brother or not, to destroy the peace and stability of our world, the easy life that we ourselves had worked so hard to create. No, I would not allow him to erase my legacy and print my name along with those human leaders of the past who had been little more than failures.

Brother or not, Caius could not be allowed to continue on in this manner. And though it broke my heart to do so, I knew that it was I who would stop him. It was I who would risk my own life to save my kind. The way that I paved for my kind would continue to be the way of the world, but no longer would my brother walk upon it.

Sinking to the floor in the silence of my newly-destroyed chambers, I was filled with a bittersweet mixture of resolve and remorse. I hated what I was being forced to do, but I knew that it was my duty to see it through.

I steadied myself with a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling slowly and deliberately, allowing the last traces of hurt and apprehension leave my body. No longer would I fear, no longer would I second-guess the choice I was making, no longer would I mourn the loss of the brotherhood that Caius and I had shared for millennia.

I chuckled softly to myself. My brother thinks that I am an imbecile, but he has no idea who he is dealing with.

BPOV

_[Last time: Suddenly, I felt warmth on my back, the feeling akin to the sun warming my flesh as I basked in it's glow on La Bella Luce. I glanced at the clock on my bedside table, confused._

_Three forty-one. There was no sun now._

_Every hair on my arm stood on end, and my every defensive instinct sharpened immediately. A low growl passed from my lips, warning whatever might be behind me that I was a danger to it, as I slowly and deliberately turned my body toward the warmth._

_The moment that my body faced the direction of the warmth, the direction opposite it had just been, I inhaled sharply in shock.  
Whatever I had been expecting, this wasn't it.]_

My mouth flew open in shock, my hand immediately rising cover it. Rapid thoughts flew through my mind, blurred memories flashing before my eyes one after another.

I watched, in my mind, as he sat next to me in the movie theater, hand turned up awkwardly. I listened to him mocking Mike Newton for getting sick at the movies.

I watched as he handed me a box of candy hearts. _"So are you going to be my Valentine? Since you didn't get me a fifty-cent box of candy, it's the least you can do." _

The memories flashed before my eyes, almost more quickly than I could process them. Fixing his Rabbit in the garage, building our motorcycles, pulling his shirt off to use it to wipe up the blood from my head as I crashed the bike, hiking through the woods in search of the meadow...

I heard his deep voice as he made a promise to me – a promise he always kept. _"I wanted you to know that I'm always here. I won't ever let you down – I promise that you can always count on me. Wow, that does sound corny. But you know that, right? That I would never, ever hurt you?"_

The slideshow in my head came to a harsh and painful end as I watched my best friend morph into the shape of a giant russet wolf in mid air, for the final time in his short life, before falling in a crumpled heap on the ground, never to rise again.

The pain in my chest compounded, the air rushing out of my lungs and my ribs contracting tightly, making me feel like my body was turning itself inside out. I dropped to my knees, clutching my arms close to my body in an effort to hold myself together, just as I had so many years ago.

He had been there then, too.

"Jacob," I whispered, not totally sure if he was really there.

"Hey Bells," he said with a lopsided grin.

"Jacob," I repeated in amazement, smiling back at him.

"You look...good, Bells. I can see it all over your face that I was wrong when we were young. You really _are_ Bella still."

I took me aback that he was just as amazed as I was. We stood there, in silence, staring at each other. Just as much as I was looking at a ghost of my past, he was looking into the face of what had once been his worst nightmare. The moment was entirely surreal.

"Jake, what are you doing here?" I finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Wow, Bells. That happy to see me, are you?" Jacob laughed, the same laugh as the one that filled my memories, and I felt warmth fill my beat-less heart.

Rolling my eyes at him and shaking my head, I replied, "You knew very well what I meant, Jacob Black."

It felt exactly like old times, which was odd, seeing as how I was now a 23-year-old newborn vampire and Jake was...well, dead.

"Sure, sure," he said, pretending to be annoyed. "Nice to see you, too. But listen, Bella, there _is_ a reason that I'm here tonight. It's not a good one, but it is important. I need your help – there's something that I need done, and even though it's not really your problem, you're the only one that I can come to, so I'm asking you to help me."

Jacob's voice and face both betrayed the urgency and fear behind his pleas. I looked directly into his eyes. "Jake, you were always there for me. I can be your helper this time. Talk to me."

Jake sat down on the floor, not far from the stool I was still perched upon. Though neither of us needed to sit, it seemed like the natural choice. I didn't speak, waiting for him to collect his thoughts and determine what he wanted to say. I was nervous as I waited – I couldn't imagine what news Jake might have, or what I may have just promised to do for him.

I counted the seconds – all three hundred and twenty-seven of them – as I waited for him to speak.

"Bella, when I was alive, I always thought my life was going to go a certain way. For the longest time, I was convinced that you were my destiny." He paused, sighing before he continued. "In some ways, Bells, you _were_. Just not in the way I thought. It was my destiny to save you, to keep you alive so that you could fulfill yours."

I felt a stab of sadness for him in my chest, for the future he had lost, and suddenly, the pain of losing all who had died in my stead burned fresh. I felt the venom welling up in my eyes, and anger and frustration that I could not let the tears fall began to ignite a rage within me. The leather of the stool that I was sitting on was the first victim of my out of control emotions, as my nails dug right through the fabric and pushed their way through the cotton stuffing the seat as well.

"Bella!" Jacob cried out. "Bella, you _have_ to calm down! I can't do anything to control you physically, and if anyone else comes in here, I'll have to go. This is my last time, Bells, I can't come back again. Please..."

His plea at the end was so desperate, so pained, that it broke through the red fog that had surrounded my consciousness, and I was able to re-focus my attention, taking slow, deep breaths as Jasper had instructed me, and keeping my eyes locked on Jake's.

When I was finally calm, Jacob let out a small chuckle and shook his head at me. "Okay, so I was wrong. You aren't the same Bella. The old Bella didn't have such a bad temper."

I growled at him in response.

"Okay, okay," he said, putting his hands up in the air. "Listen, I can't stay much longer. I need you to do whatever you just did, Bells, to keep yourself calm, and listen. You need to hear me out. It's a matter of life and death."

I took another deep breath, and stood up, motioning for my friend to wait for me as I ran, at full speed, to the closet, returning only two seconds later wearing one of Carlisle's button-down shirts, which I had pulled out of the laundry basket, over my own clothes. I allowed his scent, as well as those of the twins, which were infused in the fabric against which they had been held, to wash over me, bathing me in his love and the peace that he gave me.

I closed my eyes for a moment, mentally centering myself one last time, and then looked up at Jacob. "I'm ready now. Tell me the story."

"Bella, just like you were a part of my destiny, Leah was too. She and I have been together since the day of the battle, waiting for the time when we could finish our work and find our peace. She is a guardian for Sam, like I was for you. If the she and I had not been together, neither of us would have been able to protect the ones we left behind. What we learned together is what I am going to tell you now. This is the key, Bells. The key to the future."

Jacob's preamble was making me insanely curious, as well as a bit frightened. I wanted him to hurry up and tell me the rest before something prevented that from happening. I glared at him, growling softly, reminding him to hurry up.

"Alright! Damn, Bells, quit with all the animal sounds, would ya?" Jacob shook his head. "Listen, the Volturi found out about the pack."

I gasped. I knew enough about the Volturi by this point to know that he never wanted them to know about our friendly neighborhood wolf-men.

"Yeah," Jake agreed. "It's not good. Not good at all. The head guy, he wants the pack. Thinks they'd be useful to the Volturi."

I snarled at the thought of my friends being "used", and fought to keep my focus on Jacob and not on the rage building within.

"The pack will not be used. I won't allow it," I said, speaking through gritted teeth. My fists were now clenched at my sides, and I could hear each splinter of wood as the frame of the stool was destroyed beneath the strength of my hands. I was seconds away from losing whatever tiny bit of control that I was clinging to, and Jacob knew that as well as I did.

Jake's voice softened, and he scooted toward me slowly, his hand coming up to rest on my knee. There was no weight to his touch – it simply left a feeling of warmth in my skin that seeped down into my muscles and bones. "Bella, Quil would never let that happen either. We are born to fight vampires like the ones in Italy, not help them. They would fight them to the death before they willingly went with them. But Aro does not want them dead, and does not want them as slaves. He's not planning to hurt them, he's just hoping they'll say yes."

My head shot up, looking at Jake with confusion. "I don't understand what the problem is then."

"Aro is not the only member of the Volturi, Bells."

Dread filled me. My friend did not even need to explain any further, because understanding flooded my mind in that moment.

Caius. The one member of the Volturi who had shown himself to be hateful. All this time, we had been fearing the wrong vampire. We worried about Aro and his morbid curiousity, completely ignoring Caius and his unhidden hostility.

I softly spoke his name, and Jacob confirmed by theory with a nod of his head. The rage that Jacob had expected did not come, as it was overshadowed by a paralyzing fear.

"He doesn't want the pack in Italy, Bells. He doesn't want them to exist at all – he fully intends to wipe anyone who can phase now, or who may in the future, off the face of the earth. And he will, Bella. He has everything he needs to accomplish his goal. There's only one way to stop him."  
"Tell me," I pleaded. That same sensation of my body turning itself inside out had returned as I fought the overwhelming fear. "I'll do anything."

"You, Bells. You are the only one who can do it. Remember at your graduation? I told you that your future was bigger than I had imagined. This is it, Bells. You have it in you to save everyone."

My eyes widened, and my fists unclenched a bit. "How?" I whispered.

Jacob shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, frowning a bit. "I don't know. I just know that the only way that the Quiluete survive is if you're there. And don't you dare get any moronic ideas about the third wife. That's not _your _story, Bells. You have your own."

"But you never..."  
"I know. Because it hasn't been told yet. I've heard a part of it, from the chiefs who went before me, but never the full story. You are going to have to find the way yourself, Bells. I've told you all I know, and I can't stay much longer."

"Jacob, I'm scared."  
"Don't be, Bells. You can do this," he assured, the look on his face telling me that we was convinced that his words were true. "Listen, you need to call Sam. Tell him that I came and told you all this, and that LeeLee sends her love to him and Emily. He's the only one who ever called her that, so he'll know that you really talked to me. He'll help Quil understand."

"I'll do it, Jake. I'll find a way, and I'll protect them. I promise." I spoke the words with more confidence than I truly felt, yet I knew that they were true. He had done everything for me, and now it was my turn to offer the same.

He rose, and took a few steps backwards before I followed suit and ran toward him. "Jake," I implored. He looked at me, too many emotions showing on his face to decipher how he really felt. "Jake, I'm sorry."  
I was apologizing to him for every single time I had ever hurt him, for every time that I couldn't be what he needed me to be, for letting him die in my place. The look on his face told me he understood.

"I would have done it all over again, Bells," he said, bringing a hand up to touch my cheek, once again letting his warmth spread through my tissues. He looked deeply into my eyes before speaking again. "Please, Bells, please protect my tribe. And tell my father good-bye for me. I have to go, now."

"Jake," I sobbed, the venom burning my eyes though no tears fell.

"Good-bye, Bella. You have always been my best friend. I love you."

"I love you too, Jacob," I whispered as his form disappeared from view.

Once I could no longer see him, I allowed the pain to overtake my soul, grateful that Jasper had gone out for a hunt with Alice, my entire body shaking with hard sobs as I mourned the loss of my best friend and everyone else who had died for me, as well as those that still could if I failed.

I clawed at the carpet, my strong fingers ripping through the fibers one by one as I struggled to find anything to grasp that would help me re-connect to the world around me. But the sobs continued to rip through me, as I contemplated what my promise meant. What sacrifices would I have to make to keep it?

I cried until I could feel the pain lessening. It was at that moment that I remembered my daughter, as well as the rest of my family. Deciding that I had given in to my emotions long enough, I stood up, and looked around the room, taking note of the destruction that I had caused, and promising myself to be stronger from that point on.

It was when I caught a glimpse of my charm bracelet sitting on my vanity. That bracelet had on it a piece of every person that I loved, each person who, just as I carried them on my wrist, carried part of me in their heart. Each person who helped to make me who I was. And then it hit me. I understood what I had to do.

Turning toward the door, I called out to my husband. "Carlisle!" I screamed, though he could have heard me from down the hall even if I had whispered. "Carlisle! Come now!"

**A/N: Ok, tell me what you think, please! Things area about to come to a head...**


	42. 40 Discoveries

**A/N: Stephenie Meyer is the owner of everything recognizable from Twilight. I thank her for the allowing me, and all of us, the opportunity to have some fun with what she created. **

Chapter 40: Discoveries

CPOV

I left Bella alone after our shower, giving her time to dress and do whatever else she might need to do to prepare for the day, and went up to sit in the rocking chair between the two cribs that held out sleeping children. Before I sat, I stopped beside each of their beds, taking a moment to gaze down at their cherubic faces, so peaceful in sleep, and so opposite the numerous frightening images I had conjured during Bella's pregnancy. I stifled my urge to pick them up, or even touch them, as I knew that my lower temperature would be sure to wake them, and settled for whispering my love to them.

I rocked in the chair, humming a soft lullaby while my mind busied itself analyzing the latest data I had taken on the twins' development. It had been just over a week since their birth, and it seemed that they were continuing to grow at a rate similar to the pregnancy, which meant that one day for them was like two days for a human. Their minds, however, as we could see with the aide of Oliver's gift, were extremely advanced for their age – perhaps several years more developed than their bodies. It was truly extraordinary to observe.

For everything that I knew about the twins, though, there were at least ten things that I didn't. Of course, the most insistent question in my mind was whether their rapid development would ever cease. Would they grow old twice as fast as a human, and then die?

Suddenly, I was interrupted from my mental wanderings by a scream from downstairs. It was my wife.

"Carlisle! Carlisle! Come now!"

Not more than two seconds passed before I was in the doorway of our bedroom, my mouth agape with shock. Bella stood before me, in the tattered remains of a shirt that I recognized from the fabric as my own, and what looked like a tank top and shorts underneath. I was used to her clothing being disheveled, though – her first week as a vampire had been a rather difficult adjustment for her in terms of dealing with her strength, though it was something that I had expected, as we had all gone through the same troubles ourselves.

But what I saw in the room was not anything I was expecting, which explained my surprise. My eyes flitted over the scene, taking in the damage at vampire speed: the carpet was shredded, the stool that sat in front of Bella's vanity looked more like firewood, and was covered by shredded leather, and there were scratches in both the footboard of our bed and in the wood of the floor under the torn carpeting.

Seeing this damage to the room, I immediately returned my attention to my wife. "Bella, are you alright?" I asked, full of concern.

She stared at me with glassy eyes, her brow furrowing as if she wasn't sure the answer to my question. It took her a full seventeen seconds to speak.

"Physically, yes."

I took her into my arms, still not understanding what had happened, and rather frightened for her, but needing to be close to her and bathe her in my love to allay whatever emotional or mental pain she might be in. I held her close, rubbing soft circles on her back, and waited for her to explain.

Over two minutes later, she replied. "I saw Jacob," she whispered, looking up into my eyes, probably to judge my expression.

I had no reason to doubt her – we had both experienced Edward and Esme in the past – so I returned her gaze and nodded slightly, letting her know that it was all right to continue.

"He was here to ask for my help. The Volturi are going to Forks, Carlisle. I don't know how, but they found out about the Pack, and they want them. Well, Aro does. Caius wants to kill them."

"That's why Aro disappeared..." I said softly. "Why they all disappeared."

Bella nodded her head morosely. "Jacob said that I am the one who will save the Quiluetes, though he didn't know _how_ I'm meant to accomplish that small feat. But he..."  
I held my hand up to stop her. As she spoke, my mind returned me to that moment on the beach of Isle Esme, years ago, when Bella admitted to me that she had attempted to sacrifice herself to protect Edward and Seth, and I flew into a state of absolute panic.

"NO! No, Bella, I won't let you do this! I know that I owe the Pack for their loyalty to us, but I cannot – will not – allow you to risk your life for them! You have children now, Bella! You cannot leave us!"

She reached up to cup my cheeks, and spoke to me in a calm, soothing voice. "Carlisle, Jacob wouldn't ask me to do this if it was going to end up hurting me. I have to do this, honey. He _died_ for me. How can I not?"

Her last words were barely a whisper. I wanted to believe her, I did. But my dead heart seemed to be exploding inside of my chest, the fear it held at being once again forced to endure the pain of losing my mate squeezing it into a tiny ball.

Even though my body had no use for breathing, I found myself nearly hyperventilating. My reaction was so human, yet unpreventable. I had lost Esme already, her need to protect the ones she loved stronger than her desire to protect herself. The desolation and intense emotional pain that had been caused by that loss was not something I could bear to endure again.

I wrapped my arms tighter around Bella, holding her as close to me as I could. It wasn't close enough. Pushing her down onto her back on the floor, I tore at tattered remains of her clothing, as well as my own, and, in seconds, was inside her. She gasped, slightly shocked by my quick actions, I supposed, so I paused, letting her get used to the feeling of me inside of her.

"I'm sorry, my love," I whispered. "I had to be closer, I needed to be closer."

She ground her hips into me, letting me know she was ready, and I began to move inside of her.

"Don't be sorry, Carlisle, I understand," she said between the kisses with which she was peppering my face. "I need you too."

We moved together slowly, our bodies seeming to know exactly what the other was planning and reacting to each action as it occurred. Every inch of our skin was touching, our faces buried in each other's necks, arms wrapped tightly around each other, as we rocked our hips together. Over and over again we whispered our love to each other, and the closeness that I felt to her, both physical and emotional, was so overwhelming that I felt venom stinging in my eyes.

"I can't lose you, Bella," I whispered against her skin. "Please, don't leave me," I begged as I felt my climax coming upon me.

"Never," she replied softly, but assuredly, between pants.

A few more times, our hips met, pushing me as deep into Bella as I could go, before we reached our peaks together. We came with soft moans, not wishing to disturb our sleeping children, and then collapsed into each other. I rolled us onto our sides, facing each other, without letting go of her.

A few minutes passed quietly, with us just holding each other and breathing in each other's scents. Finally, Bella looked up into my eyes.

"We need to call Elly, Carlisle," she said. "He'll help us to know what it is that I have to do. And we need Alice to do whatever she can do to find out how much time we have." She reached up to cup my cheek with her tiny hand. "I know you're afraid, honey, but I promise you, I won't leave you. We'll get through this, somehow."

"How can you be so sure?" I asked, feeling terribly guilty that I could not be confidant and optimistic.

"Don't you remember that night on the yacht, honey? When we saw that shooting star?" I nodded. "We wished that we'd have everything we ever dreamed of in our marriage. Neither of us had any idea that a wish like that could come true, but the two babies sleeping upstairs tells me that it can. And it did. Now, I don't know about you, but I certainly never hoped for our marriage to end in tragedy, so I'm going to have to believe that this is going to work out, and that we'll have that peace we dreamed of once it's over. We just have to work for it, that's all."

Her hope and optimism were so beautiful in that moment that the only thing I could do was kiss her.

When I finally pulled away, I promised her I'd make the call, and then suggested we get dressed before the children woke.

***

A minute later, as I was buttoning my shirt, and Bella was sitting on the bed, pulling her jeans carefully over her legs, Oliver's cry broke through the silence. For the tiniest fraction of a second, my wife and I shared a glance.

"It's alright, my love, I'll see to him. You finish getting dressed, then come join me," I instructed, wanting her to understand that I did not want her to rush. Bella had enough difficulty with small tasks like dressing herself – unless she took her time and concentrated on the task, the end result would be more destruction to our possessions, as well as a raging newborn for me to handle.

Bella nodded her agreement, and I made my way quickly to the twins' bedroom, which had once been Bella's, to check on my son.

Arriving in the room, I found my children laying in their cribs, which sat side by side, looking in each other's direction. Neither seemed the slightest bit unhappy, and I wondered what had caused my son to cry out in such a way.

"Oli, Lily," I called softly, reaching my hand down into my son's bed to touch his. "Is everything alright?"

Oliver's tiny hand gripped my finger, and my head inundated with the image of a baby bottle filled with blood, and I could hear his soft, boyish voice, "Papa, Lily is thirsty."

I smiled adoringly at my children, impressed as always by the amazing connection between the two of them, as well as the sheer miracle of their existence, both in the world, and in my life.

"What about you, my little Oli," I asked. "Are you thirsty as well?"

Once again the images filled my head. This one was of Bella, sitting in the rocking chair, with our son in her arms, feeding him his bottle of blood.

"I understand," I replied, smiling. "Give Papa a moment to get the bottles ready for you, and I will get your mother as well."

Both of the children adored Bella, this much was obvious to anyone, with or without Jasper's gift, and the feeling was entirely mutual. But I often marveled at the connection between her and our son, which seemed so incredibly strong. I thought that, perhaps, it was because he was, just as much as I, her sire – his venom flowed through her veins just as surely as her blood flowed through his.

I left the room, both babies lying quietly in their cribs, and walked toward the kitchen. I called out to Bella as I made the bottles, and she emerged from the bedroom a moment later, having successfully dressed and braided her hair. She made her way over to the kitchen, doing a good job moving at a human-like speed.

"Babies thirsty?" she asked.

"Yes, and Oliver is asking for you," I said, handing her one of the bottles. The first time I had given her a freshly made bottle, I'd had to send Rosalie and Emmett out to the woods to bring back more, since Bella devoured the contents without the children tasting a drop. This time, though, she handled it better – though her eyes darkened considerably, she made no effort to move the bottle to her mouth. I could, however, see the slight twitch in her forearm, which told me that she was fighting the urge to do just that.

I spoke softly to her. "My love, you are doing well. I'm proud of you, Bella." Offering her a small smile, I held the second bottle away from her with one hand, and slipped the other around her waist, leading her toward the children's bedroom. "Remember, you've eaten tonight, but your son has not. That blood is for him. If you keep that in mind, you will be stronger than your desires."

Bella nodded, her mouth set in a firm line that showed her determination, and the two of us made our way up the stairs.

I watched proudly as Bella picked up Oliver, cradling him gently in her arms, and walked over to the rocking chair that sat in the corner of the room to feed him. A few days ago, she hadn't been able to pick up the babies without risking their safety. I made my way to Lily's crib, lifting the beautiful blond child who looked up at me through eyes that mirrored Bella's when she was human, and, kissing her softly on the forehead, walked to the rocker next to the one in which Bella sat to feed my daughter.

As Bella and I sat, side by side, both of us with an infant in our arms, I marveled at the incredible turn my life had taken. And for those few moments, I was not a vampire, I was not about to face a battle that may or may not take more of my family away from me, I was simply a husband, and a father, looking adoringly upon the miracles that had been given to me – all three of them.

***

A few hours later found me welcoming Alice and Jasper home from their hunt.

"Rose said she and Em would bring back something good for the babies, so we didn't," Jasper explained as he entered through the back door.

Alice addressed me as well, barely letting her husband finish his sentence before she began to speak excitedly. "Carlisle, I Saw Carmen and Eleazar boarding a flight for Boston. Are they coming back to visit?"

I sighed heavily, and decided to give a short explanation only, so that I would only have to have this conversation once tonight.

"They are coming, though not just for a visit - I've asked them to come. We're having a family meeting tonight. I'll need you both to be here, as it's rather important." Jasper and Alice looked at me, obviously concerned and confused. "Please, it's only a few hours," I begged. "Let me explain it to everyone at once."

Alice sighed, and Jasper nodded his head, both resigned to wait until the evening.

"Where is Bella?" Alice asked, looking around.

"She's upstairs, reading on the window seat in the twins' bedroom," I replied, smiling. Bella sitting on that window seat, book in hand, was an image that filled so many of my memories. How many nights had I stopped in the doorway to that room and watched her do that very thing? It felt good to know that, though everything had changed, some things were still the same.

Alice nodded, kissed Jasper on the cheek, and sprinted up the stairs. Jasper looked at me, furrowed his brow, and walked over to the sofa, sitting down, giving me a look that told me that he wished for me to join him. I took a deep breath, and went to take my seat.

We sat for a few minutes in silence, both of us intent on staring the other down, it seemed, before Jasper finally spoke.

"Listen Carlisle, I know I'm feelin' everything stronger than usual these days, but you had my stomach in knots before I even got to the house. The worry you're feelin' right now, it's just like what you felt in the last days before the twins were born and Bells was changed. And for you to be that worried... Carlisle, tell me what the fuck is going on. Is somethin' wrong with the babies?"

"Jasper, the twins are healthy, I promise. There's just..." I sighed deeply - all the fear and anxiety over the unknown was weighing heavily on me, and on Jasper too, through his gift. "An issue has come up. It's one that we need to discuss as a family, and it's not a short story, son. I promise, you'll know everything, but I don't want to get into it until everyone is here."

Jasper looked me in the eyes, studying me carefully. "What time will Eleazar arrive?"

"His plane should land within the hour. By the time they arrive, I would say two and a half hours from now should be more than enough time."  
"I'm gonna go, then, Dad. Forgive me, please, but it's just a little heavy in here. It makes me crazy to worry this hard when I don't even know what's wrong. I'll be back in time, I promise."

I nodded my understanding, and watched as Jasper made his way out the back door, silently begging his forgiveness for the emotional upheaval he had been forced to deal with these past weeks, as well as for what I knew I was going to have to ask of him tonight.

***

I sat in the empty room after Jasper left, staring at the family portrait that hung above the mantle. As I stared at the smiling faces of the five vampires and one human in that picture, which had been taken on Bella and my wedding day, I found myself wondering what had happened to the days when life was simple. What had happened to bring so much danger, so much loss, so much pain, into our lives? After everything we had already faced, why must trouble once again come looking for us?

Sitting there alone, I once again turned to God, closing my eyes and dropping my bowed head to rest on my folded hands in prayer.

"Dear God," I whispered aloud, my voice wavering, betraying my fear. "You have tested and tried us, presenting so many obstacles to block our paths and giving us burdens that often seem too heavy to bear. Each time I thought that I would not make it through, you granted me success. But my successes were not without cost.

I turn to you today, God. You have given us yet another task: we must save the Quiluete tribe. And we will make every effort to do so, I can promise this. But please... I beg of you, do not take my family from me. I cannot bear to lose them. You know me, you know what I am capable of. Thus you must know that I cannot survive without them. And so I ask you for your mercy. Amen."

***

Two hours, twelve minutes, and forty-six seconds of me pacing in front of the fireplace later, my entire family, including Carmen and Eleazar, found their way into the living room. They spread out in the sitting area, Rosalie and Carmen holding the babies, cooing softly at them, while Bella sat with her head on Emmett's shoulder, smiling up at me despite her obvious nervousness.

"First of all," I began, addressing the group gathered before me, "I need to thank Elly and Carmen for making the trip here, and to thank all of you for your patience in waiting to hear what I have to say until we could all be together. What I have to tell you tonight will be neither easy to accept nor easy to understand. But I have hope that, together, we will find the solution to the problem I'm going to explain."

My family members all nodded their understanding and willingness to continue listening, and I smiled at them, perhaps for the last time this evening.

Taking an unnecessary deep breath, I began to speak. "What I am about to tell you is going to take time and understanding. I need you to bear with me while I get through this." I paused for a moment. "Last night, Bella came to me with news. And while the source of the information will come as a shock to you, I can promise you that there is no reason to doubt."

I paused for a moment, to let my words soak in, looking at each vampire sitting before me. They all looked back at me, their expressions registering concern, confusion, and worry. I looked at Bella last, and she offered me a small smile, meant to bolster my confidence. I nodded at her, and began to speak again.

"Bella was visited last night, by Jacob Black. This is not the first time this has happened. I have felt and smelled Esme near me, and I saw and conversed with Edward the night before my wedding. Bella saw Esme that same night, and saw all three of them at her graduation. Please do not think that we have made this up, or that we kept it from you to hurt you. That was not the case – the opposite of it, in fact. The first visits were more of a good-bye, a way to help Bella and I let go of the guilt and be together. Last night, however, was different.

Last night, Jacob came to Bella with a warning, and a plea for help. Alice, it seems that the reason that you cannot see the Volturi brothers anymore is that they intend to travel to Forks. They have learned of the existence of the Quiluete pack, and have intentions to deal with them."  
My last sentence was met with several sharp gasps, a growl and the sound of wood cracking as Emmett's fist came down upon the table he sat behind. It took only a second before the room was filled with a cacophony of voices, some of them expressing anger at the Volturi, some awe in the knowledge that their family members were alright after death, some fear over what I might say next. Had I not been a vampire, with all of them talking at once, I would have only heard noise.

I waited a moment for them to quiet down, but they did not. If anything, the volume in the room increased as everyone in the room tried to be heard over the others. I heard Emmett's voice above the others, venom filling his voice as he raged against the audacity of the Volturi to interfere with the Pack – a group obviously beyond their authority. The feminine growl of Rosalie sounded her agreement with her husband.

I called out the room, but was not noticed. I yelled a second time, making my voice louder this time than the first. My attempts to call them to attention were floccinaucinihilipilificated as the voices in the room continued as if I had made no effort at all.

I looked at Bella, who sat, curled up into herself, looking at the group of agitated vampires that surrounded her, suspicion and anxiety in her eyes. I could see that she felt threatened and was struggling against the urge to move into fight mode, and it seemed that she was getting closer and closer to losing the battle.  
Then, to make matters worse, I felt Bella's suspicion and fear, Emmett and Rosalie's fury, as well as a blend of other emotions in the room, begin to fill my body. My muscles immediately tensed, and I could feel my eyes growing darker as red seeped into my vision. My hands were curling into fists, and my knees began to bend as my body dropped into a crouch. I was preparing to attack, but who, or even for what reason, I did not know.

"Jasper!" I yelled, searching for him in the melee surrounding me.

I saw him, in a corner of the room, looking as wild and dangerous as I had ever seen him, crouched low and snarling, his eyes black as coal. Forcing my mind to fight against the emotions that I knew he was sharing with me, I reached for the nearest item, a large crystal vase, and threw it to the floor hard.

The resulting crash and shattering of glass was enough to capture the attention of the room, and they all looked toward me.

"Jasper! Get out!" I demanded, knowing that nothing could calm until he found relief from his own anxiety. "Eleazar – go with him! He's not himself right now, so be careful!"

Jasper and Elly ran out through the glass door in the living room, tearing off into the woods at vampire speed. I returned my attention to the rest of the room. I could see that Jasper's exit had already begun to help the others, but Bella was still beyond reason, her newborn control simply not enough to fight against Jasper's gift when it was that powerful.

"Rosalie, Carmen," I called to the women who still held my children in their arms, "Take the babies upstairs. Their mother is in no condition to have them nearby. Go quietly and slowly – we don't need her to panic."

The girls did as I asked, Alice following them up the stairs. I then turned my attention to Emmett.

"Son, Bella is going to need a drink to help calm her down, but she's far too agitated to be rational on a hunt if any humans were to come within smelling distance. Please go out and find something for her, but bring it back alive. She's close to attacking all of us still – let her take out a bit of that urge to fight on her meal instead."

Emmett nodded and ran out through the same exit that his brother and Eleazar had taken before him. I moved to place myself directly in Bella's line of vision, dropping down to my knees so that my position would appear less threatening to her.

"Bella," I called softly, slowly inching toward her. "Bella, my love... Please, come back to me. I know you're frightened, I know you feel angry, but please, sweetheart, please fight it."

I was staring directly into her eyes, but she did not see me. The woman in front of me, though she looked the same, was not really my wife. No, this was a wild, agitated, newborn vampire who had lost touch with the rational world.

"Bella!" I called again, louder this time. I was close enough to her now that I reached out and grabbed her face, knowing that it was a dangerous choice, but hoping that it was the right one.

It was not. Bella's immediate reaction was to attack the one she saw as a danger to herself, lunging at me, and my hand, reaching up to cover my face from her attack, began to burn almost instantly as her teeth cut though my flesh. I cried out in pain, unable to stop myself, and Bella shot backward onto the sofa in a crouch in her surprise at the noise.

She sat there, ready to attack again at a moment's notice, snarling at me as I kneeled several feet away from her, gripping my hand tightly in an effort to stave off the burn. I quickly brought my injured hand to my mouth and licked the would, sealing it with my venom, and then dropped back into a submissive position.

I crawled slowly toward Bella, keeping my eyes on hers and trying my best to stay calm so as not to make her more nervous. When I was once again close enough to touch her, I reached out with an open hand to touch her face, hoping that a gentler touch would not frighten her. As my fingers met her skin, I brushed lightly over her cheekbone and down her jaw, my touch loving, hoping to convince her that I was not trying to hurt her.

Good intentions or not, my plan failed for a second time. Less than a second after my fingertips came into contact with her flesh, my wife had flipped backward over the couch and was crouched low to the floor, arms out and snarling, preparing to attack. The only part of my plan that had succeeded, if you could call it that, was that I now had her full attention.

"Bella," I said, filling my voice with authority, trying a different approach. "I'm Carlisle, your husband. Your mate. You need to take a deep breath and calm yourself. I am not going to hurt you."

Bella cocked her head to the side, no longer snarling, but her muscles still taut and her posture still implying her readiness to remove my head from my neck at a moment's notice.

"That's right, Bella. You're safe here. No one wants to hurt you, especially not me," I said to her in a tone that sounded like a parent speaking to a young child, and watched as her posture relaxed just slightly. "Come on, baby," I urged further. "Come back to me."

Just as I thought that Bella was going to snap out of her haze, she growled loudly and leapt, not at me, but at the back door. As soon as she moved, I caught the scent in the air, recognizing the scent of a mountain line, and chased my wife out the door.

I got outside just in time to see Emmett running in the opposite direction as the cat, who was running at it's top speed toward the woods, trying to outpace the gorgeous vampire who was sprinting to catch it. With her newborn strength, she caught up quickly, and lunged at the lion, jumping atop it's back and flipping it over, rolling several times through the grass. When they came to a stop, the cat began to claw at Bella, it's front legs flailing and teeth gnashing together as it growled. Bella stayed low in a crouch, snarling viciously at the animal as she circled it several times before finally throwing herself on top of it again. It took every ounce of determination in me to stay where I was, knowing that the animal could not actually hurt her, and let her fight her own battle. As the wrestling match became more violent and her sharp nails began to break the skin, causing bright red trails of the animal's lifeblood to stream down it's sides, Bella was overcome by the need to feed, and her teeth plunged into the animal's neck.

I watched as she pulled from vein in long drags, blood trickling down her chin and staining her already-destroyed clothes, until she was finished. When she found the lion was drained, Bella pushed it away, and, from her position on her knees, looked up at me, her eyes once again a bright red.

"Carlisle... I..."

I put my hand up to stop her, and, seeing that she was returned to herself, walked briskly to her and dropped to the ground beside her, ripping a shred of her shirt with my hand and using it to wipe the blood from her chin.

"It's alright, my love. Please, don't apologize. I completely understand what happened to you, and I don't blame you. It was simply beyond your control, sweetheart," I assured her, leaning in to kiss her forehead. "Are you alright now?"  
She nodded, her eyes remaining apologetic.

"Let's go home then. We have a conversation to finish, and I imagine that the rest of our family has also calmed down and are waiting for us to continue."

We walked back into the house and found that the rest of the family had re-assembled in the living room, all looking slightly worse for wear, but definitely more calm than the last time I had seen them. Every vampire in the room wore a remorseful expression similar to the one that Bella had in the backyard, and I replied to all of them with a smile.

"Elly?" I addressed my friend. "I have a feeling that you know what just happened better than any of us. Would you care to explain?"

With the attention of the room focused on Eleazar, I led Bella to the chair nearest the fireplace and sat down in it, pulling her into my lap, then nodded to my friend.

"What happened here tonight, I can tell you, happened because of a combination of factors. The first is Bella. As a newborn, she has a great difficulty controlling her emotions. Tonight, she reacted just as a newborn would have been expected to when she was surrounded by a group of angry and panicked vampires. Her reaction – anxiety and the desire to attack – was merely one of self-preservation. It, however, combined with the other two factors to cause the meltdown that we witnessed.

The second factor is Jasper's gift. We all know how his gift works already – he absorbs all of the emotions in the room and can also share emotions with us at will. His will, however, has been compromised by the strength with which he has been feeling the emotions. I spoke with Jasper once he had regained control, trying to ensure that I understood all of this correctly. Jasper has been feeling the emotions so strongly that he has been overwhelmed, and unable to keep from sharing them with the rest of us. Tonight, Jasper absorbed everything that everyone in the room felt – all that rage, anxiety, fear, panic, anger... I'm sure you all remember a similar occurrence here in this living room a few months ago, when lust was predominant." Eleazar chuckled softly, smiling at his wife before he continued. "The question is, por que? Why is Jasper feeling emotions so strongly? The reason, mis amigos, is held in the arms of Rosalie and Carmen at this moment." All the heads in the room turned to look at the twins. "Claro que si, it is the gift of your children, Carlisle and Bella. It was not easy to discover, I assure you, and I had to do quite a bit of experimenting while we waited for your return."  
I looked up at my friend, confused.

"The twins each have their own power, Carlisle, but there is something special about them that is directly related to their connection as twins. Perhaps you have noticed that Oliver always knows what his sister needs and wants? This is because they are able to communicate telepathically with each other, and only with each other. This is only one piece of their gift, though.

The second piece is even more amazing, I think. The twins, if they are together, act as an amplifier to the power of others. By this I mean that, when Oliver and Lily are here together, they intensify the affects of Jasper's power, and that of anyone else with an active gift."  
"But I can't See better," Alice interrupted.

"Of course not," Eleazar replied with a smile, obviously proud of himself for having pieced together this puzzle. "But that is because they compromise your vision completely. Jasper's power, my own, and Bella's," my wife's head shot up and I heard her gasp, "Yes, carina, your power. I will get to that, lo prometo. To continue, our powers are enhanced. This is why Jasper feels so strongly and why what he passes to us is so intense.

The beauty of the gift, you see, is that the twins are stronger together than apart. If you were to separate them, even by only the wall between two rooms, the amplification completely vanishes."

Eleazar stopped speaking, giving us a chance to absorb what he had said. I was absolutely astounded by his pronouncement, and found it nothing short of miraculous that the connection between Oliver and Lily was so deeply-rooted.

"There's more," Bella said, not actually asking, as she focused her gaze back on Eleazar. "You said they had their own power. And that I had one. I need to know, Elly." Bella broke her eye contact with Eleazar at that moment to address the group as a whole. "Jacob said that I was the one who would save the tribe, that it was up to me. That means that Eleazar must have something more to tell me. Something that will direct me and tell me what is it that I have to do to accomplish my task."  
Bella's revelation was met with raised eyebrows and soft gasps around the room, but her calm demeanor, coupled with everyone else's efforts to keep control of themselves, prevented another episode like the one we'd had already,

"Carina," Eleazar continued as I tightened my hold on my wife's hand, "All three of you have a gift, that is true. Oliver's you have experienced many times since his birth – he can show you his thoughts by a touch of his hand. Lily's you've had some experience with as well, I believe. Your daughter," he smiled at me, "Carlisle, she is like you – a healer. She can take pain, both physical and emotional, away.

Bella, mija, your gift is a shield. Your mind is impenetrable to all mental gifts. This explains why Aro and Edward were unable to hear your thoughts, and why Jane was unable to use her power on you as well. Your shield is extremely strong, Bella, and, I believe, once you learn how to use it, a very useful defensive weapon."

As I marveled over Eleazar's explanation, my wife rose from the chair and began to pace the room, making several trips back and forth before she stopped in front of the fireplace and turned back toward us, throwing her hands up in the air.

"A shield?" she cried. "I can protect my own mind? How in the hell is that going to help me save the Quileutes?"

"Bella," I warned, reminding her to get control over herself.

"No!" she yelled, turning an angry face in my direction. "Don't you tell me to calm down! My dead best friend appeared in my bedroom last night and told me that I was somehow responsible for protecting his entire tribe. Me! I am a damned newborn vampire, Carlisle! The only thing that makes me special is that I can keep people out of my head. Well, that doesn't do shit when there's a whole army of highly trained, experienced, gifted vampires coming at you with intent to kill!"  
As I watched Bella's grip slowly falter over the course of her rant, I caught a glimpse of the rest of the vampires in the room slipping out quietly. Eleazar and Emmett looked back at me from the door, questioning with their eyes if it was alright for them to go, and I nodded, watching them leave before returning my attention to my wife, who was still ranting.

"This is bull shit, Carlisle! Elly had to have missed something, because there is no way, NO WAY that I can do this. Where is my peace, goddamn it? I wished for peace!!"  
The last words came out as a scream toward the heavens, and Bella's anger found it's expression not only in her words, but in her fist as it came into contact with the stone wall of the fireplace, turning two of the large stones into gravel.

"Bella!" I yelled, my voice now matching hers with anger.

Her head whipped around and she glared at me, her brow furrowed with anger, hissing.

"No!" I commanded, infusing my voice with authority. "Don't you hiss at me, Bella. You need to get yourself under control, and you need to do it now. Newborn or not, Isabella, you know the proper way to behave, and this is not it! Will you continue to put your husband and children, as well as your siblings, at risk so that you can throw your temper tantrums? This ends, Bella! Now!"

Part of me felt guilty for speaking to my wife this way, as if she were a child. But, in truth, she was. She was a one-week old vampire, after all, and her human age wasn't all that important at the moment. And she needed the reminder so that she could get her control back.

Bella started at me through narrowed eyes, her expression still fierce, but no longer hissing. There was something about the way she looked – so wild and intense – that called to the vampire in me. And, in realizing that, the pain from her bite and the desire to let her regain her control on her own disappeared. Instead, I wanted to throw her down and take her.

And that was exactly what I was going to do.

"Bella," I said, my voice low. "Come here."

I gestured to the floor directly in front of me, and waited for her to move. Her eyes widened at my tone, but she remained in place.

"Did you not hear me, Isabella? I said. Come. Here."

This time she did not disappoint. She walked to me slowly, her nerves showing, and stopped exactly where I had instructed.

"Good," I cooed. "That's a good girl, my Bella. Do you see this?" I held up my arm to let her get a good look at the new scar that she had given me, and she gasped as she realized what it was. "Yes, exactly," I said sternly. "You bit me, Bella. And while I forgive you, and even understand how and why it happened, you need to know that this is not an action that I want to see repeated. What if you were to lose your temper around the children, Bella? You MUST get a handle on yourself. Do you understand me?"

She nodded, her eyes lowered, not meeting mine.

"Look at me, Bella," I commanded.

She lifted her eyes, looking up at me through her lashes. Somehow, I saw innocence in those bright red irises, and I knew that my Bella was back.

"I love you, Bella. I will always love you." I took a step toward her, bringing us so close that our bodies grazed each other as we stood. I lowered my head so that my lips were directly beside her ear, blowing a cool breath against it before I whispered, "But right now, I really want to fuck you."

I felt the shiver as it coursed through her, and I knew by the scent that filled my nostrils that my choice of words had her highly aroused.

She wasn't the only one.

My mouth still at her ear, I licked my way around it, sucking lightly on the lobe, smiling as I heard her sigh. I spoke to her again, directly into her ear, in a low, husky voice. "You like that, do you? Do you want me to bend you over this chair, Bella? Do you want me to remind you that you are mine?"

"Please," she moaned, her voice heady and full of lust.

Moving away from her ear, I brought my lips to hers and kissed her hard, one hand slipping behind her head to hold her against my lips, not willing to end the kiss unless it was by my choice.

My tongue slid into her mouth between her parted lips, and I tilted my head, deepening our kiss further, my second hand, which was now resting on her shoulder, making its way slowly, firmly pressed against her skin through her tattered shirt, down her back until I found her ass, grabbing a fistful and pulling her into me. Our hips met, and I knew she could feel just how hard I already was for her. I met her resulting moan with a circle of my hips, grinding myself against her.

I finally pulled my lips from hers and made my way down her jaw and neck, kissing and licking as I found my way to the scar that I had put there, sucking on it as my hand, which had been on her head, moved down, grasping the fabric at her neck and ripping it away from her body, letting the shreds that remained fall to the floor as her entire torso was displayed for me.

I stepped back, looking her body up and down, smirking at her. "I do love looking at this body, Bella. I'd like it even more if you got rid of the rest of your clothes, though. Do you think you could do that for me, my Bella?"

There was no hesitation in her compliance this time, and what remained of her clothing after her wrestling match with the mountain lion lay at her feet within seconds. She stood there, naked, before me, waiting for my next instruction, and I couldn't deny just how much that turned me on.

"Undress me, Bella. Do not rip my clothes."

Bella walked over to me, determination set in her mouth and eyes, brow slightly furrowed, and brought her fingers up to grasp my top button.

"Concentrate," I warned. "I know that you can do this, Bella. You can do whatever you want to, so long as you focus. Do that now, Bella, because I can promise you, if you rip my clothing, you will not get what you want tonight."

Her eyes flitted up to meet mine, just for a moment, and then she returned to her work. I stood, unmoving, watching her complete her task. My shirt was removed without incident, and she offered me a tentative smile, which I returned.

"You are doing well, my Bella. But you are not finished just yet," I reminded.

The beautiful vampire took her bottom lip between her teeth and moved her hands to the button of my jeans. I watched as her nimble fingers worked the button open and the zipper down without incident, and then moaned softly as she dropped down in front of me to pull the fabric down and over my feet.

When I stood completely naked, she looked up at me, once again looking through her lashes, and my hand unconsciously found its way to my cock. I began to stroke myself slowly as she watched, her lips parting as she panted softly.

"Do you find this sexy, Bella?" I asked, though the answer was quite obvious. "Do you like that I am touching myself?"  
She did not answer. I raised an eyebrow at her. "Answer me, Bella."

She opened her mouth, exhaling a heavy breath, and then spoke. "Ugh, Carlisle... Everything you do is sexy."

I smirked a little, enjoying her response. "And what of this?" I asked, grabbing the back of her head with my hand and thrusting my hips forward, letting my cock slide right between her parted lips and into her mouth.

Her response came in the form of a low moan around my cock as she closed her lips over it, swirling her tongue around me before she began to bob her head up and down my length.

"That's right, my Bella," I breathed. "Get me ready for you."

I remained still, giving her a chance to take control of pleasing me for the moment. I moaned as her lips met the soft blond curls at the base of my cock, the head nudging the back of her throat. It took everything I had to keep my eyes on her as she hollowed her cheeks and moved her mouth at an agonizingly slow pace up and down my cock. I could not, however, withhold the soft grunts and groans that escaped my throat as the pleasure tightened the coil in my belly.

When I could no longer keep my hips from thrusting forward to meet her mouth, I called for her to stop. As soon as my cock had slipped past her lips, I reached down and grabbed her beneath her arms and pulled her up, crashing my lips to hers and kissing her hungrily, both of our hands exploring each other's backs and arms as the kiss consumed us.

I finally pulled away from her lips, panting and desperate to be inside of her. "I want you now, Bella," I growled, wrapping one hand around her waist and used it to spin her around so that her back was to me, and I brought my lips to her shoulder, licking a line all the way up to her earlobe, which I took between my teeth and nibbled gently.

"Mmmm....Carlisle," she moaned.

I let my hand move down from her waist to find her clit, rubbing slow circles around it as I used the other hand to press against her back, pushing her down over the arm of the chair. I looked down at her, that beautiful ass on display for me, and my eyes slipped shut as I inhaled sharply with desire.

Grasping my length once again with my hand, I positioned the head against her slit, sliding it slowly up and down her folds, teasing her just a bit more as I continued to rub her clit with my other hand.

"Please, Carlisle," she begged.

"All in good time, my Bella," I reminded as I continued to tease her.

She began to writhe in front of me, her hips pushing back and grinding against me, and it was too much. I couldn't wait another second, and thrust myself into her to the hilt in one swift motion. We both groaned at the intensity of the pleasure, and I waisted no time in beginning to move, setting a quick pace with my hard thrusts.

She moaned loudly, the sound carrying through the room, as I grasped a handful of her long hair and used it to pull her head up and back toward me. I had never been so rough with her, but I was far past the ability to stop now.

What I was doing with each thrust of my hips was something of an exorcism. I was trying to release all of my frustration over Bella's adjustment to vampirism and my anger and fear over the upcoming conflict with the Volturi, as well as force the confusion and instability out of my wife. I knew the effects would be short-lived, but a few moments of peace and comfort together was a gift that I would treasure.

I thrusted even harder, my hand moving from her clit to her hip to use it as leverage, and listened with rapt attention to the sounds of our joining – moans, pants, and the sound of flesh slapping together -as they echoed off the living room walls.

I felt myself getting close. "Bella," I grunted. "I need you to cum with me. I want to feel you get lost in us, Bella."

"Oh god, Carlisle..." she moaned.

"That's right, my Bella. Tell me you know who you belong with, who your mate is, who makes you feel this way," I said lustfully as I fought to stave off my orgasm until hers began.

It took only a second for her to answer, her reply coming in the form of a long moan of my name and her walls tightening around me as her climax washed over her. I followed immediately behind, shooting my venom into her as I held on to her tightly.

I let myself collapse to the floor after the intense pleasure subsided, pulling Bella down and into my lap. She rested her head on my shoulder, panting softly against my neck, and I rubbed soothing circles on her back, letting her know that everything was okay.

"I love you, Carlisle," she whispered.

"As I love you, my Bella," I replied softly. "I know this is difficult, sweetheart, but we'll find a way through it, I promise."

She lifted her chin toward me and we kissed softly, finally feeling like Bella and Carlisle again.

**A/N: First of all, a very big thank you for your patience. I had hoped to get this chapter posted for my birthday, but that was an epic fail. Besides all the insanity of moving and preparing for company, I had a terrible case of block on this one. I have to say a huge thank you to BamaBabe, without whom I have no doubt I'd still be staring at the same sentence...either that or I'd have jumped off the balcony. Thanks also goes to NCChris, who talked me through a rough patch or two, and Mommybrook and Ggtwinmom, who pre-read a bit for me. And let me not forget my twitter cheerleaders, (led by luvmesomejasper) who kept me motivated. I love you all, really.**

**Secondly, a bit of warning: I have 2 o/s that MUST be written by March 1, so don't expect the next chapter of Basking until after that. If could happen, but I really wouldn't hold my breath.**

**Ok, that's it. Please let me know what you thought! **


	43. 41 The Return to Forks

**A/N: Twilight is the creation of S. Meyer. I am, as are we all, fortunate enough to be allowed to play with her characters and bend them to my will. My only profit from this writing are my own enjoyment. I am hoping for more profit next chapter... lol.**

**In case you didn't notice, I've changed my pen name. Sorry if that was confusing to anyone, I simply wanted a bit more anonymity than my previous one provided.**

**For those of you who are still with me after the insane amount of time it took to get this update to you, Thank You. Real life and writer's block have doubled teamed me and made me their bitch the past two months. I'm hoping, though, that this marks the end of it and the rest of this story will come to me (and you) quickly.**

**A huge thank you to BamaBabe, who has been nothing but supportive all along, and who keeps me going when I want to kill everyone just to make the story end. The same thank you to Mommybrook, who wouldn't let me kill off everyone either, and who told me I don't suck when I was sure that I did. **

Chapter 41: The Return to Forks

CPOV

It was two months between the family meeting and the night when Alice got the vision that informed us that the Volturi were preparing to leave for Forks. The two months seemed to have passed far too quickly, as if the days were measured in segments of twenty-four minutes rather than twenty-four hours.

We had spent the past two months preparing for this night in so many ways. Rosalie had prepared a car for a long trip – there was no way that Bella could fly yet, her control was simply not strong enough – and Alice had procured plane tickets for the rest of the family. Rosalie and Emmett had offered to care for the twins on the journey, and Bella and I had gladly accepted, knowing that the thirty-hour car trip was simply too long for Lily and Oliver. Carmen and Eleazar had traveled to Forks a month ago, readying the house for habitation and buying all the necessary baby supplies. Jasper went with them, and spent a week in La Push with Quil and the Pack, informing them of the situation and preparing them for the battle that loomed in our future. It was something that I would have liked to do myself, but I was unable and unwilling to leave my wife and children at this time, and Jasper, truly, was the best second-in-command I could every hope to have.

On the home front, I had spent the vast majority of my time with my wife and children, enjoying simple family moments that I had never, in three and a half centuries, dreamed that I could have. Even at this moment, I sat rocking in a chair, with my sleeping baby girl secure in my arms, as if I would not be engaging in vampire warfare, side by side with a pack of werewolves, in a week's time.

As Lily slept peacefully in my arms, I turned to look at my wife, sitting in the rocker beside me, and smiled sadly. "I can't believe this is the last night we'll have with out children." I paused, heaving a large sigh. "I wish there was another way."

Bella stopped stroking Oliver's hair and reached over to pat my hand. "You know there isn't. We've looked at every possibility. It's not safe to have them anywhere near the battle. There's still a chance that we can convince the Volturi to walk away..."

Her last words convinced neither of us. It was wishful thinking, but Bella refused to let go of that little bit of optimism, mostly because she had yet to figure out what she was going to do to save the Quiluetes.

I shook my head. "It's a lovely thought, Bella, but I spent enough years with the Volturi to know better. According to what you heard from Jacob, Caius wants to kill the wolves, Aro wants to use them. I worry, my love... The opposition of their desires does not bode well, for any of us."

Rather than respond, Bella leaned her face down, her nose brushing against our son's hair, and inhaled deeply, a smile gracing her face as she enjoyed his scent. "I'll miss you so much, Oli," she whispered.

I squeezed her hand gently. "We'll be back with them again soon," I promised.

Our quiet moment was disrupted them by a soft knock on the nursery door. I looked up, and smiled as Rosalie and Emmett entered the room.

"It's time, Carlisle," Emmett said softly, giving me a sympathetic smile.  
I rose from my chair, gave my daughter one last soft kiss, and handed her to her uncle. I opened my mouth to speak, but Emmett beat me to it.

"We'll take good care of them, Dad, don't worry. You know how much we love the twins."

I nodded. I did know. I glanced to the side and saw Rosalie offering a very similar reassurance to Bella. Not wanting to drag out the good-bye any longer, I leaned in to place a kiss on my son's head, whispered my love to him, and took Bella by the hand, leading her from the room, my thumb rubbing soothing circles on her palm as I listened to her shuddering breaths as she cried tearlessly.

The first few hours of our drive west, as we crossed Vermont and New York, were nearly silent, both of us lost in thought. As we passed through Ohio, I nearly laughed at the utter silliness of the two of us – we would only be without our children for thirty hours, yet to us it seemed like weeks. When I pointed this out to Bella, however, she reminded me that we would have them only one day before once again turning them over to someone else: Charlie. I had called him a month ago to arrange this, a conversation which had been almost as interesting as the one in which we told him that we were vampires. I shook my head, chuckling softly at the memory. The Swans never reacted as expected, that was certain.

By the time we were passing Chicago, our conversation had livened up as Bella told me, through giggles, of how Oliver had taken Emmett by surprise during a diaper change, causing Emmett to scream like a girl as his shirt was soaked. We laughed together as we contemplated how the twins would behave for their aunt and uncle until we arrived in Forks.

It wasn't until we were cruising through Wyoming that Bella finally admitted her worry about the battle. Our entire drive through the state was filled with discussion of what lay before us, Bella's nerves showing through in her every fidget, so uncharacteristic of a vampire. I tried my best to reassure her, but there wasn't much that I could say, seeing as how I was rather terrified myself.

There was no question in my mind that a battle lay before us. The Volturi would not simply walk away, it wasn't their style. They were coming to demonstrate their strength and power, and, one way or another, they would not leave without doing so. And, unlike the one which we had fought against Victoria and her army, a battle in which we lost five of our own, we would not be fighting untrained newborns. No, this time it was the Volturi: the most skilled, gifted, and trained fighters known to our kind. There was ample cause for worry.

Our ride became quiet again as we crossed into Idaho, and stayed that way until I exited the highway just inside the Washington state line and parked in the woods.

"Why are we stopping here?" my wife asked, furrowing her brow.

"We should hunt, sweetheart. We will be seeing the pack very soon after we arrive in Forks, and I don't want it to be difficult for you."

Bella nodded her understanding, and the two of us exited the car and ran off into the woods in search of our meal.

The sun was just rising as I parked my car at the end of the long driveway of our old white house in Forks. Arriving here always filled me with bittersweet memories and a bit of an ache in my heart, and this time was no different. Stepping through the door, however, I was greeted with my new reality when Carmen came running to greet us with a baby in each arm and a wide smile of her face.

"Bienvenido, Carlisle, Bella!" she exclaimed as my wife and I each relieved her of a child. She must have noticed me searching the living room with my eyes for the rest of the family, and answered my unasked question. "Everyone has gone for a hunt. Jasper insisted."

She smiled in a way that told me that Jasper was being a tyrant. I wasn't surprised. Major Jasper tended to resurface at times like these.

"I'm sure he did," I said with a chuckle, cradling Oliver in my arms. "Why don't you go join them? Bella and I have already hunted, and we've missed the twins anyway."

Carmen thanked me, and, after kissing us all goodbye, ran off into the woods.

Bella and I spent the rest of the morning with our children, enjoying the little time we had left with them before we had to take them to their grandfather. It turned into quite a special day around noon, when Lily sat up on her own for the very first time. It was absolutely amazing, young as she was, that she was able to perform such a feat, but it was yet another testament to their vampire half, which made her so much stronger and developmentally advanced than a human baby of the same age.

As we laid the babies down for a nap in their new nursery – once again Bella's old room – Bella looked up at me. "Do you think that the babies will really be okay with Charlie and Sue?"

"I wouldn't be giving them to them if I didn't, my love. Sue has experience as a mother, as well as having experience with offspring that aren't quite human. And Charlie has a heart full of love for his grandchildren." I smiled, thinking of how Charlie had called me everyday since the twins were born to check on them and Bella. "They will be just fine."

Bella tried to smile, but wasn't completely successful. I brushed the hair back from Lily's eyes, and then walked over to stand beside Oliver's crib next to my wife, and squeezed her hand.  
"It'll be alright, Bella. I'm going to miss them too." I pulled her against me, holding her close and smoothing her hair with my hand.

I really wasn't sure how we were going to get through a whole week without our children, but it was what we had to do for their safety. Everyone agreed that having them anywhere near the battle was a very bad idea, and thus we were sending them with Charlie and Sue to Isle Esme tonight. We would join them there once Forks was safe again.

Bella nodded against my chest, and then spoke in a somewhat muffled whisper that only another vampire could have understood. "Carmen and Elly got the island ready, right?"

"Yes, they went there last week. There is plenty of food for your father and Sue, and milk and blood for the babies. The house is clean and there are plenty of methods of amusement for everyone. They will be safe and happy while they wait for us."

Bella looked up at me, concern etched across her forehead and clearly defined in her eyes. "You sound so sure that we will join them on the island," she said softly. Her earlier optimism that we would all come safely through the coming conflict with the Volturi had waned as each day passed with no further discovery of a secret that would help her defeat them and save us all. Uncertain as I was, I was determined to help her hold on to hope, because, if she were to give up, it would surely be disasterous.

"Of course we will, Bella. We wished on a star, remember?" I said with a playful grin, ruffling her hair a bit. "We _will_ get through this, we _will_ join our children, and we _will_ live happily for eternity," I promised.

My wife leaned back into my chest, resting her head over the place where my heart had once beat, and sighed. "I hope you're right, Carlisle," she whispered.

A few hours later, I stood with Jasper and Bella in the clearing where the memorial to our fallen warriors stood, waiting on the wolves. Jasper stood with rigid posture, recalling his earlier years in the Confederate Army. This did not surprise me in the least – I had seen him do the same thing when we encountered James's coven and Victoria's army years ago. The wolves were our allies, though - his stance reflected that Jasper was already prepared for the arrival of the Volturi.

I looked over at Bella and chuckled inwardly as her nose crinkled and a look of disgust washed over her face. "What is that god awful..." She paused, and I laughed aloud as the realization hit her. "Oh... The Pack is coming, right?"

"Yes, Bella," I said, sharing a knowing glance with Jasper. "That delightful scent is letting you know that our brothers in arms are arriving. Quite honestly, we don't smell any better to them. Try to hide the grimace, if you can, my love."

Bella's face wrinkled one last time, then she shook her head, returning to a peaceful expression as she looked forward across the clearing once again.

I was so proud of her in that moment – we had worked so hard on her control these past two months. Her meltdown during the family meeting, and my behavior afterwards had been the shock that she needed to take control of her vampiric nature, rather than letting it control her. I had hated taking a hard stance with her, but the responsibility to protect our family and our children, as well as all the humans around us, lay on my shoulders, and, having dealt with four newborns before her, I knew that coddling her would not help in the least. Luckily, she understood that, and had since thanked me repeatedly for rescuing her from the place where she felt lost inside her own mind.

Reaching over, I squeezed her hand, just as Quil, in his human form, led five wolves into the clearing. When he was within my reach, I extended my hand to him, and he graciously shook it.

"Hello, Carlisle," Quil said. "It's been a long time. I wish we weren't meeting under such circumstances, but I can't thank you enough for what you are doing here."

"Quil," I replied, "Your pack was there for us when we needed protecting, it is our duty and honor to now do the same for you." I offered a genuine smile, which he returned, then he turned to Bella.

"Wow, Bella," he said, grinning slightly. "You look good. Really pretty." He chuckled. "Smell like crap, but hey, can't win 'em all, right?"

Bella grabbed her stomach and doubled over, laughing hard, and was quickly joined by Jasper and myself. When we finally recovered our composure, Bella looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"So much for manners, right, honey?" I chucked, and then she turned to Quil. "Sorry, Quil, but for your inspiration, they perfume companies have decided that Eau de Wet Dog isn't going to be a big seller this season..."

The sound of the pack laughing in their wolf form was indescribable, and the rest of us laughed again. The laughter was a nice break from the tension that we'd all been feeling.

Once we'd all calmed down, Quil got down to business. "I hope none of you are offended by my brothers staying in wolf form. It's just that we can hear and smell even better that way, and we're on constant alert for the Italian bloodsuckers... No offense."

I smiled. "None taken. We all understand that. We're all on high alert at this point, I'm sure, but Alice's last vision gives us reason to believe that we have four days until they arrive. Things could always change, of course, though I doubt that they will."

Quil nodded thoughtfully. "We'll continue to patrol nonstop, nonetheless. I assume our battle plans are the same as what was discussed with Jasper?"

"Yes," I replied. "Jasper is, for all intents and purposes, in charge here. I will speak for us, but he is, if needed, our general."

"Major," Jasper interrupted.

I smiled, nodding in his directions. "Of course. Jasper is our Major, and will be our commanding officer in this fight."

We spent the rest of the hour going over specific details, formations, and escape routes. Jasper and Quil worked out some specific details about evacuating the rest of the tribe while Bella took a moment to walk over to a sandy-colored wolf and pat it on the muzzle.

"Seth?" Bella asked the animal. The wolf nodded, it's tongue flopping out of the side of it's mouth as a silly grin formed on its face. Bella wrapped her arms as far around the wolf's neck as she could and hugged him forcefully.

I stepped back from the crowd, walking over to the rock that, as always, was wrapped with a tribal friendship bracelet, and ran my fingers over each name carved in it's face. Each name a loved one lost in this clearing. As I did this, I said a silent prayer that we would not add any more names to this list.

When all the preparations were completed, Bella, Jasper and I said goodbye to the pack and ran back to the house. We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying some quiet time with our children and the rest of the family.

Seven o'clock came too soon, and Bella and I were standing on Charlie's doorstep, children and diaper bags aplenty in our arms.

After ringing the bell, I looked at my wife. "Be sure to keep the baby close to you – his scent should help cover the human scent to some extent. If you feel uncomfortable, you tell me immediately, and run like hell for the woods. Got it?"

Bella nodded, taking a deep breath and then burying her nose in Oliver's dark waves.

A moment later, the door opened, and my father in law stood before us, the grin on his face and the tears filling his eyes evidence of his great happiness to see his daughter once again and his grandchildren for the very first time.

Charlie reached out to embrace Bella, but I held up a hand. "It's not safe yet, Charlie. Bella hasn't been around humans yet, and though she hunted this morning and shouldn't be thirsty, it's better that you don't take the risk."

Charlie stepped back, nodding. We'd had many conversations since breaking the news to him, and he was now educated enough about vampires to heed my warning, though not quite enough to have complied with my request to bring the twins to him without Bella.

He gestured for us to come into the house, and we did so, entering the living room to find Sue waiting in the rocking chair.  
"Well, give me a baby already!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Do you know how long it's been since I've held a baby?"

I smiled and carried Lily over to her, kissing the baby girl on the head softly before laying her in her grandmother's arms. I stood for a moment, smiling as I watched my daughter's happy expression mirrored back to her by Sue, and then turned back toward Charlie and placed my arm around Bella's waist.

"Are you all ready for your travels?" I asked. "I certainly hope you enjoy your time on the island."

My father-in-law nodded. "I wish it wasn't under these circumstances, but I can't deny it's gonna be real nice to take my girl and our grandbabies to the beach." He looked down at Oliver, cooing in Bella's arms, and then looked back at me with concern. "Did you pack sunscreen? They're so pale."

I chuckled. "As far as I can tell, Charlie, the sun can't hurt the twins, though you'll probably notice that it makes them shimmer a bit. Not a full-on glittering effect like you saw with Bella, but a slight shimmer."

At that moment, Oliver reached out for me, touching my finger, his gift filling my mind with his soft voice and the image of me holding him. "Papa, I want to be with you."

I looked into Bella's eyes. "Oli would like me to hold him, my love. Do you think you can manage? I'll be right here," I whispered.

Bella nodded, holding our son out to me, and I took him in one arm, leaving the other wrapped around her waist.

For the next two minutes, we remained this way as I answered questions from Charlie about our trip to Forks and reminded him of specifics that he would have to know about the twins while we were away. Suddenly, I heard a bit of a squeal behind me, and turned backwards quickly, finding Sue holding Lily up in the air above her head.

Charlie, in an act characteristic of any overprotective father, made a sudden movement to run toward Lily in order to protect her. That move, however, protected no one.

The shift in the air carried Charlie's scent straight to Bella's nose, and she, caught off guard by the alluring aroma of human blood, reacted as any two month old vampire would. I, with Oliver in my arms, watched in panic as Bella lunged at her father.


	44. 42 The Night Before

**A/N: owns all things Twilight. I take no profit from this piece of work.**

**This chapter has three points of view, all telling how they spent the week leading up to the battle, but specifically the night before it. Enjoy.**

**A big thanks to BamaBabe for pre-reading and helping me make big decisions. You're the best sounding board a girl could ask for, Babe. **

**Chapter 42: The Night Before**

CaiusPOV

Traveling to the United States had been tedious, at best. I had been forced to fly in the private Volutri jet with my brothers, as well as a small contingent of the guard. Avoiding Aro was difficult in such close quarters, and he was becoming more and more irritated by my unwillingness to touch his hand. His laughable attempts at fooling me into it had me rolling my eyes incessantly for the entire twelve hour journey to the west coast.

Also on the plane, sitting amongst the guard, were members of my elite army: Felix, Demetri, Afton and Chelsea, the last of whom sat with a childish pout on her face. She was extremely close to the end of her existence at this point – she had irritated me to no end these past months, but her behavior during the past week had crossed my limitations. She was no longer even pretending to serve me, acting as my equal even in front of my brothers.

She would never be my equal. Never. It was impossible.

I caught her eye somewhere over the Atlantic and glared at her, telling her with my eyes that her antics needed to cease immediately, before she was noticed. I had no problem ending her to protect my mission. I was risking my life, the lives of my army, to save our kind. She meant nothing compared to that honorable ambition.

As we crossed over the continent, I had to endure a conversation with Aro about his hopes for the werewolves. I was disgusted, offended, and trying to hide my outrage. As if I would ever allow those vile dogs in my city, much less in my castle. Even knowing it would never come to fruition, as I had no intentions of allowing the animals, much less Aro, leave the battlefield.

I sighed aloud as I listen to my imbecile brother ramble on as Marcus sat beside him, idly staring out the window. Simply sitting with them in this plane was a sacrifice I would one day we honored for.

We arrived in Seattle and set about finding a suitable hotel in which to stay. We chose the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, which seemed to be high-class enough for our needs. I wished that I could allow my army to stay at this hotel with me, but it was simply too obvious to have an extra nine vampires staying in this hotel – there was no way that it would go by unnoticed by Aro. So my honored servants camped in the woods outside of the city, hiding themselves from the watchful eyes of the Volturi faithful.

The night before the battle, my brothers and I, along with the guard, left the hotel for the first time since our arrival, and ventured to a nightclub not far from where we were staying. We arrived early enough in the evening that there were only about thirty patrons in the club besides ourselves. These humans would have the honor of being the last meal for several of our number, and the meal that would give us the strength to fight victoriously. They did not know this, of course, but there was no doubt in my mind that these lowly humans were the most respected prey we had ever taken into ourselves.

Upon finishing our meal, every member of the Volturi present was forced to leave the scene alone, so that we could return to the hotel without drawing attention to ourselves. This, of course, had been my idea. I am nothing if not thorough in protecting our secret.

My orders, of course, had a secondary objective – they gave me the chance to leave the watchful eye of my brother so that I might meet with my army one last time before we met on the battlefield. I ran from the nightclub and found myself the cover of trees as quickly as possible, taking the rest of the journey at vampire speed. This exercise felt so good to me – I had spent far too many years cooped up in that god-forsaken castle at Aro's insistence. Yet another thing that would change under my leadership.

I arrived at the camp and whistled, signaling my servants to come out to greet me. They did so without hesitation, and were quickly joined by the rest of my loyal servants from the guard, who had followed my lead in coming here after the nightclub. Igor, who I had left in charge in my absence, stood off to my right, but still in front of me. He understood his place, and that pleased me. I would not forget.

"Tomorrow," I began, "Is our day. Our glory. We will be victorious, and, together, we will save our kind, preserve our lifestyle, and remind those that would have betrayed us how we handle disloyalty.

Our plans are set. The Volturi will arrive at the clearing at nine in the morning. Those of you who are part of the Guard, you will be in formation behind me. You will appear loyal until the moment that I give you the signal to fight, at which point I am sure you know what to do. Do your best to merely capture Alec and Jane, if at all possible, rather than kill them. They could be useful to us once their loyalty is assured.

For the rest of you," I continued, addressing those vampires from the camp. "I want you in position at dawn at the latest. Svetlana, Jack, and Lachlan, find yourselves positions behind the lines. Jack, should it be necessary for us to flee, I expect you to have routes prepared for us.

Igor, Estevan, and Akiko, I want you on the left side of the field. Akiko, I want your blinding gift used upon my whistle, on everyone who is not on our side. Understand?"  
The small Japanese vampire nodded her head in agreement.

"Good. Tatiana, Nicolai, and Tamatsu, you will be on the right side of the field. Tatiana, your gift should be used as soon as you break out onto the field – daze anyone who you can, it will make our fighting much easier. I don't want to lose any of you if possible. You have all pleased me immensely, and I wish to have you as my imperial army."

My servants, obviously overjoyed at my final words, immediately began speaking excitedly amongst themselves and offering me words of gratitude.

"The only gratitude I need from you is your victory tomorrow. I must return to my quarters now, before I draw suspicion. I will see you on the battlefield, my faithful ones. Until then, good night."

With my final speech given to my army, I returned to the city and retired to my room to spend my last night as one of the Volturi.

AroPOV

Sitting on the plane with Caius at my side was not the way I would have preferred to pass fourteen hours. What was worse was that I knew, without question, that half of the guard who sat in that metal tube with me were traitors. And yet I sat, pretending for the sake of my kind that all was well. The time would come to deal with them; it was not here yet.

I spent the vast majority of the flight focusing on the werewolves of the Quiluete tribe. I was so excited to see them for myself, to learn what they could do and how they acquired this ability. I was genuinely intrigued, as they were something I had yet to come across in my millennia on this earth, but I was also hopeful that they would join my guard. I sat in silent contemplation, wondering what skills they had and how I could best use them to benefit my kind. Somewhere over the Atlantic, I began to speak my thoughts aloud to Caius, despite knowing that I would not be able to convince him to agree.

Once we were in Seattle, it became more difficult to pretend not to see the mutiny happening right under my eyes. What my guard must think of me... It is shameful that the ruler of the vampire world could be so clueless. But alas, they would know soon enough.

We went to a nightclub tonight. It was the first time I have gone after my own meal in years, ever since we found Heidi, actually. It's simply easier and safer to have our dinner delivered, that way we cannot be discovered by humans. But tonight, we went out, and we feasted. It was a bittersweet meal, though, as I knew it was the last I would ever share with my brother. Perhaps with anyone, as I was willing to end myself if it was the only way to stop Caius. I would do whatever it took to save the world from him.

After we finished our meal, we all left separately to return to the hotel without drawing a scene. I returned to my room and stood by the window, watching for the return of the others. Caius and those I knew to be loyal to him did not return.

I called Heidi to my room, asking her to bring Jane, Alec, Corin, Santiago and Renata with her. These were the only members of my guard present that I knew without a doubt were still faithful to their master. When they arrived in my room, I informed them of the reality that we faced the next day.

"I'm sorry to have kept this from you for so long, my dear ones," I began, my voice soft, yet strong. I knew that the pain and anxiety that I felt could be heard in my tone, but these were my most beloved servants, and I was determined to be honest with them. "I have discovered a plot within our family, led by my own brother, Caius, to overthrow our leadership. He has intentions of assassinating both myself and Carlisle Cullen tomorrow, as well as the wolves that we came here in hopes of acquiring.

He has an army assembled, some of which are members of our own guard. I am incredibly hurt and angered by the betrayal of every member of his forces, but especially by Caius himself. He is planning to name himself emperor after he successfully completes his coup. I warn you, dear ones, he is unstable. None of his recent choices, nor the speeches I have heard him give, give me cause to believe that having him lead the vampires alone will be safe. For anyone.

Knowing all of this, I take the responsibility for my brother. I will stop him; I will save our kind from his madness, and I will put an end to my brother, as much as it will pain me to do so. That being said, I am here to ask for your help. I do not require it. If you would like to leave, you are free to do so now, and I will harbor no ill will toward you for such a choice. Tell me, my dear ones, what will you do?"

Each of the vampires that stood before me bowed their heads, taking their turn to come to me, one by one, and kiss my hand, promising me their loyalty as long as they should exist. Despite everything that brought us there, it was one of my happiest moments.

I dismissed them all after that, bidding them go and spend this last night any way they chose, and returned to my post by the window, waiting on the traitor I had once called brother to return.

BellaPOV

I stood in Carlisle's embrace, my whole body shaking hard with dry sobs, in the woods behind my father's house. My husband was doing his best to soothe me, but, at that moment, it was simply an impossible task.

"How could I do that?" I wailed. "He's my father!"

The scene played out over and over again in my head, the images seared into my memory.

_I was standing next to Carlisle, who was holding Oliver in his arms and explaining to Charlie where everything was on Isle Esme. I had grown comfortable enough, especially with Carlisle's hand holding me, to stop holding my breath, but my throat had a fierce burn with me standing so close to my human father. Keeping my focus on Carlisle's words, as he had taught me, I felt fully capable of resisting my __father's blood, the scent I recognized as a mixture of the ocean, pine, and soft cotton._

_Just as I was beginning to feel proud of myself for identifying the components of his scent – something I'd been unable to do with human blood up to this point, since I couldn't keep myself calm around it – everything changed. Quickly._

_Lily squealed behind us, and the sound of her tiny voice startled us all. Carlisle, Charlie and I all spun around to see what was happening with my little girl._

_I was instantly relieved to see that she was making happy sounds in response to my stepmother lifting her up in the air. My relief lasted less than two seconds, though, as I was suddenly slammed by a scent that made venom pool in my mouth. I couldn't tell what it smelled like, only that it smelled delicious. And I wanted it._

_Without thinking, I turned and leapt at the owner of the scent, crashing into its chest and tumbling down to the floor. I was looking right at my prey, pinned to the ground beneath me, barring my teeth, and I moaned as I breathed in its scent once again. _

_Just as I leaned in to bite, my prey spoke to me._

"_Bells? Bells, please. It's me... Charlie. It's Dad. Please, Bells."_

_The voice, the words...They sounded familiar. I leaned back, my lips still dripping with venom, my head cocked to one side, and tried to figure out what was happening. _

"_That's right, Bells. You don't want to do this. Come on, baby, please. Please don't hurt Dad." _

_The voice...I knew that voice! I blinked rapidly several times and shook my head hard, trying to clear the scent so I could focus. _

_The sound of crying behind me captured my attention, and I turned to see my son crying in Carlisle's arms. A look up at Carlisle's face showed me that he was terrified – it wasn't an expression I was accustomed to seeing on my handsome husband's face. I followed his line of sight, which led me to the body that lay on the floor under me. _

_I gasped, horrified. "Oh my god... Dad..." I whispered. _

_Guilt poured over me at the realization that I had just attacked my own father, and, unable to face him, I rose quickly and ran as fast as I could into the woods behind his house. _

"Don't you see?" Carlisle's honeyed voice interrupted my thoughts. "You didn't do it, sweetheart. You stopped yourself. You were on top of a human, ready to bite, but he is still alive and uninjured."

"Yeah, uninjured...but probably scarred for life. I can never face him again. Not that he'd want to see me after today..."

I was an absolute wreck, the guilt and regret eating away at me. For the first time, I understood what Edward had tried to tell me years ago when I first asked to be changed. Being a vampire really was much harder than the Cullen's made it seem.

"I see that look, Bella...please, my love...Please don't..." Carlisle's voice was shaking.

"I'll go away after the battle," I said, emotionlessly. "I shouldn't be here anymore. I can't be trusted." I looked off into the distance, unable to stand the sight of the pain in Carlisle's eyes.

My husband opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the ringing of his cell phone. I watched silently as he reached into his pocket to retrieve his phone and then brought it to his ear.

"Hello?" He paused, and I heard the muffled voice in the phone reply. A moment later, Carlisle handed the phone to me.

"Hello?" I asked nervously.

"Don't you dare!" came Alice's furious voice through the phone.

"Alice," I argued. "I don't have a choice. I've already hurt Carlisle. And if I could attack my own father, no one is safe around me."

"Bella, I swear to god, I will hunt you down and rip you apart, let you fuse back together, and then do it all over again. YOU. WILL. NOT. RUN. Do you understand me?"

My sister was demanding, but I was stubborn.

"But Ali..."  
"NO! No more discussion, Isabella Marie Cullen," she screamed. "If you leave, my vision continues on to Charlie's funeral. And there is no cloudiness in my vision, which means no twins. Carlisle, in this vision, lies on the floor on the Hanover living room, without moving, no matter how far into the future I look. Is that enough, Bella? Or do you want to hear more?"

I stayed quiet, considering her words. "What if I stay?" I finally whispered.

Alice spoke, her voice much calmer now. "If you stay, the future is foggy – that is the influence of the twins. Even Charlie's future is foggy, Bells. How many times do you have to be told? You're the glue that holds everyone together. We need you. All of us," she finished, her voice quivering.

"Okay, Ali," I replied softly. "I won't go anywhere."

"Well, you _will_ go somewhere," she countered. "You'll start by going back to Charlie's – he wants to talk to you, and you don't have much time left before the car picks them up for the airport." She paused for a moment. "Don't bother arguing, Bells. Whether you do or not, you still end up at Charlie's, so you don't need to waste the short time you have with pissing me off."

Alice was so obnoxious when she was smug.

"Oh, and Bells?" she called.

"What?" I replied, resigned.

"Jasper will be waiting for you in Edward's meadow when you finish with Charlie."

I was going to answer, but the click I heard from the other end of the line let me know that, according to Alice, the conversation was over.

Handing the phone back to Carlisle, I looked up at him nervously. "I'm sorry, honey," I said softly. "I'm so sorry."

Carlisle shook his head. "Don't be sorry, my love. It's very early in your existence as one of us for you to be in such close quarters with humans. You did very well, Bella, truly."

"Alice says I have to go back inside. Please don't let go of me in there, Carlisle. I'm scared."

"Of course I won't," he promised, taking my hand and leading me back into my father's house.

I left Charlie's half an hour later feeling much better. My father, according to Carlisle, cleared up any remaining questions about why I was the way that I was when he walked over to hug me as I entered his house not more than twenty minutes after I attacked him. Charlie assured me that he understood, and promised that we would someday laugh at this. I wasn't so sure about THAT, but I took his forgiveness with gratitude all the same.

Carlisle and I separated about halfway to the meadow so that he could run down to the treaty line for a quick meeting with Quil while I talked to Jasper. Slowing to a walk as I entered the meadow, immediately spotting Jasper sitting with his back against a tree that grew directly opposite the one that held Edward and Esme's plaque, I walked over and sat down beside him, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"What's up, big brother?" I asked.

"Thought you might need someone to talk to after what happened with your dad. Figured I was a good choice, what with my past experience attacking family members and all." He made a face, but then smiled slightly at the end, wrapping an arm around me.

We talked for a bit, Jasper listening as I recounted the afternoon's disaster and the conversation I'd had with Charlie afterwards. When I finished, Jasper pulled his arm away, sat up, and faced me.

"Alright Bells, I feel how guilty you still are, and I get that. But there's something more important that you need to be feeling right now. Do you know what that is?"

I shook my head, not sure what Jasper was getting at.

He rested his hand on mine. "Remember that day you got hurt at the beach, when I told you how I was able to take care of you?" I nodded. "I felt awful when I nearly hurt you, just like you feel now, but I had two choices on how to deal with those feelings: I could wallow, or I could do whatever it took to make sure it never happened again," Jasper explained. "Which will you choose?"

I looked up into his eyes, worried. "But Jas, I'm a newborn. I'm not anywhere near the level of control you had at my birthday..."  
He shook his head. "Doesn't matter where you start, Bells. It's where you finish that counts."

"Will you help me?" I asked.

"Try to stop me," he replied with a grin.

As the week passed, my family spent a great deal of time in the baseball clearing, preparing for a battle with the Volturi, wolves by our sides. There was no doubt that Jasper was an excellent commander – he led us in several formation options, gave us all different mock attack plans to prepare for, and helped each of us determine how we could be most effective in battle.

Well, each of us but me. Each day that passed brought the Volturi closer to this clearing, but brought me no closer to discovering how I could save anyone besides myself with my gift. Being a newborn still, I couldn't even hope that I had amazing fighting abilities. I was really more brute strength than skill at this point.

At "the Major's" insistence, we all hunted daily, going in two large groups, always sticking together. Jasper was taking every precaution to keep us all safe, and that included keeping us together.

On Friday evening, I was sitting between Carlisle and Rosalie on the couch, looking at pictures in an email from Charlie, when Emmett ran through the back door, Alice, Carmen, and Eleazar hot on his heels, and Jasper, who was running in a defensive crouch, bringing up the rear.

"What's going on?" Carlisle demanded, obviously noticing the suspiciousness of their entry as much as I had.

"The wolves found the Volturi," Emmett replied. "They are just outside Seattle, and, if Embry heard right, we can expect them tomorrow morning."

"They're preparing," Jasper added. "I expect hunting as well."

Eleazar walked toward Jasper. "I'd like to go up there tonight. I have enough experience with the Volturi that a simple look at who they've brought would help us a great deal tomorrow."

My brother considered Elly's proposition for a moment, then nodded his agreement. "Yes, an intelligence mission is an excellent idea – it gives us our best chance. I'll go with you, and..."

"Me too!" Emmett exclaimed.

"No," Jasper commanded. "Em, I need you here to protect Bella and Rose. I'm taking Ali with me – her visions will work if the wolves aren't around, and we might need that."

Alice walked to Jasper's side, followed by Eleazar. Carmen rose, putting a hand on her hip. "You are not going without me, mijo. It is better to have us evenly divided."

Jasper knew better than to argue with her, and gestured for her to join them. After taking a moment to say goodbye, the four of them walked out into the night.

Carlisle and I excused ourselves after they left, retreating to our bedroom. We sat down beside each other at the foot of our bed, and he turned toward me, taking my hands in his.

"This is it," I whispered.

"Yes," he replied stoically. "There's a chance, much as I prefer not to believe it, that this will be our last night together." I felt the venom filling my eyes, and my chest burned with fear. "There are things that I need to say to you, Bella."

I reached up and placed a finger over his lips. "No, Carlisle. Don't say good-bye to me."

He heaved a heavy sigh and reached up to remove my finger from his lips. "Bella, I will be optimistic later. Right now, I am being practical. I will protect you with my very life, if need be, tomorrow. You are the mother of my children, and I will do everything in my power to make sure you are always here to care for them."

His eyes bore into my own as he spoke, the emotion in his voice slowly shredding every connective tissue in my heart.

"Bella I need you to promise me, no matter how you feel if something were to happen to me, that you will stay here and care for our children. Please, Bella..."

It was the hardest thing he could ask me, but I knew that he was right. We both knew the pain of losing one's mate – it would be terrible to have to experience it a second time – but we had two precious miracles that needed us.

I nodded. "Make the same promise to me," I whispered.

He nodded, leaning in to press his lips to mine, whispering"I promise" just before he kissed me. He pulled back from the kiss, looked into my eyes, and moved my hand to lay over his heart.

"I promise you, Bella, that as long as I exist, I will love you, and I will be yours."

I immediately recognized the words as being from his vows. I leaned in to him, overcome. "Oh god, Carlisle...There aren't words. I love you more than I can express. We WILL get through this. We have to. Because you are my eternity."

He moved in, closing the distance between us in a fraction of a second, our lips meeting in a searing, passionate kiss that completely consumed us. As we kissed, he lowered us down to the bed, and we spent the night lost in each other, making love as if it was the last time, because, really, there was every chance that it was.


	45. 43 Negotiations

**A/N: All things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer. Only this plot is mine. **

**A million thanks to BamaBabe, who beta'd this chapter while she should have been preparing for vacation, because she is the definition of fuckawesome. **

**Chapter 43: Negotiations**

**CPOV**

The morning of the battle dawned far too soon. Bella and I had spent the night, not fearing what was to come, but celebrating all of the love that we shared. We were lost in each other, and every bit of passion and pleasure that we shared was strengthening us for what we had yet to face.

I looked down at Bella, her breasts sparkling in the light of the rising sun as she lay panting beneath me, and smiled.

"It's time," I whispered.

She nodded. "The Volturi are physically stronger. They drink human blood, it's just a fact. But do you know why we will win?" she asked in, as of late, an uncharacteristic display of optimism.

"Why is that, my love?"  
"The Volturi fight merely because it is their job to do so, but we fight because what we have is worth fighting for. Our hearts are in this. We can do it, Carlisle. I don't know how, but I know that we can."

I gave her a bright smile and rose from the bed to dress, tossing her the outfit that Alice had left on the dresser for her. I chuckled softly to myself as I did so – leave it to Alice to make battle fashionable.

Once we had both dressed, and Bella's hair was fastened in a low bun, the style which the girls had deemed safest, we left our room and walked hand in hand to the living room to await the others.

They arrived only moments after us, all dressed in their battle clothes. It wasn't until Eleazar came to stand beside me that I realized that each outfit bore an embroidered symbol on the left side of the chest, just over our non-beating hearts: the Cullen crest. That one small image was an illustration of everything we stood to fight for: family.

Jasper cleared his throat from across the room, trying to get my attention. I looked away from Eleazar's arm and up at Jasper, nodding.  
"Let's go," he said, speaking in a firm voice to us all. His concentration and seriousness were clear in his features – as we walked out the backdoor behind him, the Major was leading us to battle.

We arrived in the baseball clearing just after eight o'clock, the pack joining us a few moments later. They came in their wolf form, all except for Quil. As alpha, he had decided to remain in his human form to speak for the pack. It was a decision for which I had the greatest respect.

I gave Bella a quick kiss before walking to the front of the group to join Jasper. The two of us watched as the others lined up in the formation Jasper had decided upon last night after spying on the Volturi. Once everyone was where they belonged, Jasper addressed them.

"We're ready for this fight, but we are, as we always were, peaceful beings. This is not a fight we asked for, and we will only fight if we are forced to. NO ONE attacks unless it is at my command. Do you understand?"

The tone of his voice made it clear that it was not an issue up for discussion. This wasn't a problem, as we were all in agreement about it.

"Carlisle and Quil will speak for us," Jasper continued. "If we are lucky, that will be enough. If not, you know what to do. When I call you to fight, if it does come to that, then know that we are strong enough to prevail. It has been the greatest honor of my existence to have known and fought beside you all."

I quickly caught Jasper in a hug, speaking low for only him to hear. "You have made me so proud, Jasper. You have brought me great joy, and I, too, am honored to have known you. Thank you for everything."

"Thank you, Carlisle. Much of the man that I've become has been due to your guidance."

I hugged him tighter. "If I should fall today, Jasper, take care of them for me. Lead our family."

"None of that, Carlisle," he said firmly. "We will leave this field the way we entered it. Side by side."

He pulled away from me then, our discussion ended, and walked to where Alice stood, kissed her softly, and then returned to his position, front and center on my right side.

We waited only a few minutes before the dark cloud which was the Volturi began advancing toward us from the hills beyond the clearing. As they emerged from the trees, they began to move in a formation resembling a triangle, the top point facing us, the widest portion furthest away. I quickly counted them. Fifteen.

They came to a stop ten meters from where I stood – close enough to hear without shouting, yet far enough to have a chance to react if someone decided to attack without warning. Aro stood in the center, Caius to his right, Marcus to his left, all three shadowed by their personal guards.

"Bonjourno, my old friend," Aro greeted with a wide smile, a greeting that seemed rather odd, given the circumstances. "It's so nice to see you again!" He looked over my shoulder, seeing Bella, and motioned for her to come forward.

Bella, without hesitation, walked toward Aro, brushing my hand gently as she passed, and stopped five meters in front of him.

"Ah, how it pleases me to see that you have joined our kind after so long, Isabella," he said warmly. He raised a hand, questioning with his expression. "May I?"

My brave wife stepped forward, touching her hand to his. A full minute passed before he dropped his hand back to his side, chuckling softly. "Ai, Bella, how you confound me." He smiled warmly at her. "Is there any chance that you'd..."

She didn't give him a chance to finish his question, interrupting him as soon as she saw where it was heading. "No, thank you, Aro. As I've said before, I am really quite happy here with my family. But thank you for the kind offer." She finished her reply and immediately walked back to her place in line, pausing beside me just long enough to brush her soft lips against my cheek.

Aro sighed, shrugging his shoulders, and then looked to my left side at the pack of giant wolves. "How wonderful to see that your...friends...have come to join us as well. May I presume that you are the tribal boys that I have heard about?"

Quil nodded curtly, and Aro clapped his hands in response. I didn't miss the roll if Caius' eyes.

"I'm so very pleased to meet you, of course," Aro said to Quil, then looked up at the rest of the pack to extend the greeting to them. I heard the low growling of the pack behind me – they were not nearly as pleased by the meeting, of course.

Aro's face fell, he obviously had heard the response from the wolves as well. "Why such hostility? I've come here to make your acquaintance, hoping that the Volturi may find friends in you as the Cullens have."

"That will never happen," Quil said firmly. The tenor of the alpha was evident in his voice, and I doubted even the Volturi, despite their unfamiliarity with the pack, had missed it. "Our purpose is protecting humans," Quil spat, his voice laced with fury and disgust. "Why in the hell would we _ever_ make friends with the bloodsuckers who killed a whole nightclub full of humans last night?"

While Aro's face registered shock at Quil's reaction, Caius's was contorted with rage. His hands curling into fists at his sides, Caius began to yell "It is our..." before Aro's hands came up to stop him. It was very clear to me in that moment that Caius was something of a loose canon, one that Aro was trying his best to control. I wondered how long that control would last.

"Yes," Aro said kindly. "Perhaps there is a bit of a conflict of interest when it comes to friendship between us. But, friendship is not a requirement of conducting business. Could I tempt you to join the Volturi guard?"

This time, it was my turn to quiet the angry response – in this case, growling. I looked back at the pack, as did Jasper, who gave them a warning glare.

The pack quieted, and Quil spoke through gritted teeth. "I speak for all of my brothers when I say no to your offer. We are not interested in helping you. It is only out of respect for the Cullens that we do not kill you for your presence here and the murders you committed last night."

Aro, to his credit, or perhaps stupidity, did not back down. He quickly thought of another method to get what he coveted. "So you like to kill vampires? Perhaps you are unaware that, as leaders of the vampire world, it is the duty of the Volturi to punish lawbreakers. The only punishment we use is death. You could be our enforcement squad. What do you say to this, Alpha?"

Quil once again refused, and I could see that his patience was wearing thin. I was, at this point, extremely impressed with his control; he was noticeably shaking already, and had been for several minutes, but had yet to allow himself to phase. I couldn't help but think how impressed Jacob would have been with Quil now, if he could see his old friend.

When Aro once again replied with a counteroffer, this time to work for the Volturi on a contractual basis, my own patience wore out. I reached out to rest my hand on Quil's arm, letting him know that I would take over.

Taking one step forward, I addressed Aro. "My old friend, I have always respected your fairness. I know that, despite our differences of opinion on some things," I stopped to glare at Caius when these words were met with a low hiss, then resumed speaking. "You are a good man, and a good leader. The Volturi guard is made up of those who have joined by choice, not force. I don't imagine that you would change that history today, am I right?"

Aro agreed quickly, unwilling to allow the reputation of the Volturi to be sullied by even the question of propriety. Eleazar, however, was unappeased.

"Why then, padrone, do you bring Chelsea with you?" he demanded. "You and I both know her gift."

For a period of five seconds, Aro's usual calm, regal demeanor crumbled. I saw instead fear reflected in his eyes. I cocked my head to the side, furrowing my brow at him, trying to understand, but before I could open my mouth to ask, he once again appeared in his usual state.

I turned to look at Elly, and immediately knew from his expression that he, too, had seen the change in Aro. He shrugged his shoulders at me, obviously not understanding anymore than I had, and we both turned back to Aro and Caius, who had now taken a step forward, asserting his authority with his physical presence. The fury and impatience in his posture made him seem rather intimidating, but neither myself nor the men who stood to either side of me stepped back.

"Chelsea is a member of our guard," Caius roared. "It is not your concern who we travel with." He turned then, directing his attention to Aro. "We are finished here, Aro," he said roughly. "It is quite clear that these mutts will not accept your offer. Our brother," he continued, gesturing toward Marcus, who stood back several feet looking extremely bored with the entire encounter, "has no interest in remaining in this field, surrounded by the god-forsaken scent of wet dog. And I am through with being patient. Let us complete our business and return to Italy. Our kind awaits its leader's return."

Aro narrowed his eyes at his belligerent brother, and crossed his arms across his chest. "You may be finished, brother," he seethed, "but I am not. I have a curiosity that wants sating. You, however," he added with a wave of his hand, "are more than welcome to leave for the airport if you wish."

Jaws dropped all across the clearing as Aro dismissed Caius so flippantly. Anyone who had still been question whether there was dissension in the Volturi ranks now had their answer. But this answer brought with it new, and incredibly disturbing questions, the foremost of which was how this breach would affect the rest of us.

Quil, at this point rather volatile himself, and feeling the anxiety from everyone surrounding him, addressed Aro with a strong, yet shaking voice. "What would it take to get you to walk out of here on your own? My patience is nearly at it's end, old man, but if there is a way to end this peacefully, I will take it."

Aro's shoulders sagged a bit, and it was clear he was feeling a bit defeated. If I were not so completely on edge, I probably would have felt sorry for him. He sighed unnecessarily, frowning, then spoke.

"I am sorry, Alpha, that I have made you uncomfortable. You insist you will not join the Volturi, which I had so hoped for, yet I still wish for a chance to learn more about your kind. Will you grant me just one request, to somewhat sate my curiosity? Will you change your form here, in front of me, just once?"

"Quil, you do not have to do anything you are not comfortable with," I reminded in a low whisper.

The young man shook his head. "No, it's fine," he replied. Then he turned his attention back to Aro. "I will do this for you, but on one condition. And that condition is that you leave afterwards. I don't want to drag this out any longer."

Aro nodded his head, folding his hands together in anticipation of the show he longed for. Quil pulled off his shirt as he strode over to the side of the field, then did the same with his shorts, leaving him in just a pair of boxers. I chuckled softly as I heard the gasps come from the other side of the clearing, the Volturi obviously not having expected a striptease.

Three seconds later, Quil had disappeared, replaced by a large wolf and a shower of shredded cotton. Aro clapped his hands delightedly.

"È incredibile!" Aro exclaimed, watching Quil run a lap around the clearing. He was apparently too distracted to catch the nearly inaudible whisper of his brother as he sneered at him from only a few feet away. "Imbecile."

Aro may have missed it, but he was one of very few who did, it seemed. Several heads of the guards whipped around as their owners growled at their master.

I felt Jasper stiffen beside me at the same moment. "What the fuck..." he whispered.

"Just wait," I replied, not sure what to do, wondering whether the battle that would be fought today would exclude us entirely. At the same moment, Quil returned to the place where he had phased. He bent his snout to the ground and picked up his clothes, then ran back behind some trees to phase back to human form.

While Quil did this, Aro turned back to face the guard, half of which appeared ready to attack Caius. "Relax, my dear ones," he said calmly. "There is no need to be disturbed." He said the words and turned back to us casually, and I wondered for a moment how he remained so oblivious.

Aro waited for Quil to reach our front line again, then addressed him. "That was a wonderful show, Alpha. I am most impressed with your abilities. Thank you. I will go now, as promised, but I want you to know that the offer to join us will always stand."

Quil opened his mouth to reply, but was beaten to the punch by my wife, who stormed past Jasper and myself and held her finger out to scold Aro.

"You said you'd go, Aro!" she cried angrily. Her ability to stay in control of her emotions was still somewhat tenuous, and this conversation had obviously gone on longer than she was able to manage. "The pack said they aren't coming with you. That means NEVER. Go away. Now!"

"You insolent little bitch," Caius seethed. "This is how you talk to the leaders of your kind? We've let your lawbreaking pass unpunished in the past, we've allowed you more than we ever should have, but that ends today!" He was roaring by the time he reached the end of this speech, and, had Jasper not grabbed onto my arm to stop me, I would have already leapt at the man who had just insulted my wife.

"All of you," Caius continued, gesturing to our side of the clearing, vampires and wolves alike, "think that you are untouchable, that you are above the rules set forth to govern our world. I am here to tell you that you are not." He turned to Felix. "Light a fire, Felix. We are going to give these traitors a lesson today, remind them of our laws and what happen to those who have no respect for the laws and their leaders."

I watched in horror as Felix followed Caius's orders, silently begging Bella to step back behind me in the line. She did not. In fact, she took another step toward the man who was now preparing to murder her.

"We have done nothing wrong," she said forcefully, showing that she was not going to back down. "I am a vampire, as promised. We are following your laws. Everyone here can see that. Will you demonstrate your hatred for my family now, in front of your guard and these witnesses? Will you break your own laws, which you say are so precious to you, by killing us without cause?"

Caius sneered in response, taking another step toward my wife, the two of them now standing several feet in front of their respective lines. "Without cause? All you have done since you entered this world is flagrantly disregard our laws! You think that you are special, but you are anything but, Isabella. You are an insignificant waste of space, an insult to the word vampire, and the world will be a better place when all that remains of you is ashes!"

I started forward, trembling with anger, but was forcefully held back by both Jasper and Quil. "Not yet," Jasper commanded, forcing calm into me through his touch. I fought against it as hard as I could, but it still brought my rage down enough that I was no longer fighting his hold.

Aro, however, did not have the benefit of Jasper's influence, and his eyes flashed with fury. "How dare you speak to Isabella that way, brother," he scolded. "One of the reasons that we are respected as leaders is because we give respect to our subjects. I'd prefer you not ruin this reputation for us this afternoon. We had laws for a reason, and we will not abuse our own power now or ever."

Caius's eyes widened for a moment, the red of his irises highlighted by the flames that crackled behind him, then narrowed again as he turned his attention to me. He glared at me as he spoke, though his words were spoken with a false kindness and directed at Aro. "Of course, my dear brother. I wouldn't dream of sullying the reputation of the Volturi. You are correct in your assertion that we have laws for a reason, though I feel that _you_ are more in need of this reminder than I am, as you have been the one allowing this coven to flaunt their lack of respect for said laws in our face for years now. We allowed them to break the law once before, when they told their _human_ of our secret. But now they have done it again. And while you may accept this, _brother_, I do not."

Jasper and Quil slackened their hold on me, and I strode forward to stand beside my wife, wrapping my arm firmly around her waist. "The 'human' is now a vampire, Caius, as you can plainly see. How have we broken the law again?"

"These dogs," he said, speaking as though the word tasted like vinegar, "are well aware of our secret, and it is you who have made them so. The law is clear. These mongrels may not be permitted to live with this knowledge. It's too dangerous."

I took another step forward, bringing myself to within five feet of my nemesis. "You will not touch the Quiluetes without going through me."

I heard Jasper's voice as he stepped up to stand beside me, "And me." He was quickly joined by the rest of our family, all of whom voiced their will to protect the pack.

"Caius," Aro cautioned. "The wolves are protecting a secret of their own. They are no danger to us."

"No danger?" Caius hissed, throwing his hands in the air. "They would kill us all now if they were not bound by agreement with this coven. Of course they are a danger!"

"Caius," Aro said once again, though this time it sounded more like a plea. "They are no danger. They may not like us, but their alliance with Carlisle's family is secure. Their own secret is cause enough to keep them quiet. We will not fight the Cullens over this."

"You are right on that point, brother," Caius sneered. "We will not fight the Cullens, because we will be putting them to death for their breach of our laws as well."

Marcus, who had stood silently up until this point, heaved a large sigh. "You two are making us look foolish. The Volturi cannot be strong if they are divided. Make your decisions, brothers, and make them now."

"We leave," Aro said, speaking at the same moment as Caius, who said, "We fight."

Aro's face fell as his brother's choice was once again the opposite of his own. He shook his head, and, for the very first time, he did not seem to possess vampire strength as the weight of the world seemed to weigh down his shoulders.  
"There is no changing your mind, is there?" he asked Caius softly, sounding defeated.

Caius shook his head. "There cannot be, brother," he replied. "I stand for what is right."

"No," Aro replied sadly. "You stand for yourself. And for the first time since we banded together two thousand years ago, Caius, you stand alone." Aro turned away from Caius for a moment and looked directly at me. "I'm sorry, old friend."

I was confused, cocking my head to the side as I watched him steady himself, and then mutter to himself in his native Italian. "Per il mio genere," he said. He looked up, finding Bella beside me, and mouthed one word to her: "Chelsea." Before I could guess or ask what he was doing, Aro launched himself at Caius. I stood frozen in place and watched in shock as Aro and Caius fell backwards with the force of Aro's attack, the two of them tumbling right toward the fire that Felix had built minutes before.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed that. Let me know what you think! Also, please check out my new story, Lead Me Not Into Temptation. It is the product of a Fandom Gives Back prompt, and I'm really excited about it. **


	46. 44 The Battle

**A/N: Stephenie Meyer owns all recognizable aspects of Twilight. Get ready, readers, this chapter is pretty intense. **

**Thank you to JosieSwan, who was awesome enough to look this over for me before I posted when I was freaking out. My usually fuckawesome beta, BamaBabe, was too busy lounging on the beach to do it... * winks at Babe ***

Chapter 44: The Battle

Bella POV

I stood beside Carlisle in utter shock as Aro leapt at Caius, their bodies meeting with a thunderous crash, and watched the two of them fall to the ground and roll several times, nearly rolling right into the fire that Caius had ordered built only a few moments before. They threw several punches, each man flipping himself over the other several times, trying to gain dominance over his brother, before finally Aro pinned Caius to the ground.

I reached over and grabbed Carlisle's hand without thinking or moving my eyes from the fight in front of us. I feared that, if I stopped looking for even a second, I would miss something vital to our safety. With Caius subdued, Aro looked up to the crowd of vampires and wolves staring at him, and began to speak.

"This man is a traitor. Though it pains me to admit, there is no denying that he has betrayed the trust and the power of the Volturi. He has come here today with murderous intentions for many of us. A simple touch of his hand, would he permit me to do so, would surely attest to the truth of all that I am saying, but he has kept his thoughts from me for quite some time." Aro looked down at his brother once again, and spoke in a voice that sounded like a plea. "Deny what I say, Caius. Tell me that you are not the traitor I believe you to be."

"I will not," Caius replied in a vicious snarl. "I will not bow to your demands simply because you make them. You are nothing more than a childish fool, a ridiculous imbecile parading around in a castle, bestowed with power that you neither deserve nor understand! I am not a traitor, but a savior for our kind, as I come today to restore to our world the respect that vampires deserve!"

My mouth gaped open a bit as I watched the scene unfold before me, and there was not a doubt in my mind, though I was unwilling to look around to check, that every member of my family mimicked my expression. It seemed that, though they had come here to fight with us, the Volturi might actually forget about us completely and just fight each other...

Then, in an act that shocked me just as much as Aro's attack on Caius, Marcus stepped forward and addressed his brothers in a venomous tone.

"_Arrestilo!_ Would you two morons get up? You are making asses of yourselves in front of the guard and these witnesses! You are both an embarrassment to our office!"

I had never heard Marcus speak with such passion in his voice. He was furious. I hadn't spent very much time with him, but it was still the first time I was really sure that he noticed his surroundings at all, much less cared about them.

Neither Aro nor Caius moved immediately, which seemed to make Marcus even angrier. "Have you no respect for your position in this world?" he cried. "Perhaps you are both right, and neither of you are worthy of the power that you hold. Get up. Now."

Like a pair of scolded schoolboys, two of the most powerful vampires in our world rose to their feet, brushing the wrinkles out of their clothes. Aro had the decency to at least appear remorseful, but Caius was a different story altogether.

"Do not call me an embarrassment, Marcus. You, who have spent the better part of a thousand years walking around the castle like a zombie rather than a vampire, have no right to point fingers! Our _brother_," he seethed, "wishes to allow freaks and dogs to rule over the us. I, for one, will not stand by and watch it happen!"

Caius stopped speaking just long enough to bring a finger and thumb to his lips and let loose a long, loud whistle. Seconds later, my eyes finally left the Volturi brothers when I picked up the sound of rustling leaves. I scanned the field, my eyes searching the edge of the clearing, and then inhaled sharply in horror as I saw what had caused the sounds: from every direction, vampires that I didn't recognize emerged from the trees. A look back to Caius found a smug smile on his face, and my heart sank. These

vampires, who were standing in a circle around the clearing, were here to help _him_.

"It seems that I am not the only one," Caius added menacingly. "You've abused your office long enough, Aro. You were entrusted with power to protect vampires and their station in this world. Yet here we stand, with your lawbreaking friends who expose us to humans and dogs that you ask to join our guard. It's time you were stripped of your power, Aro. And your existence, as penalty."

Caius paused for a moment to let his words sink in, then turned to face my family. "And you," he sneered. "Carlisle Cullen. I have tolerated your freakish ways for three hundred years. For awhile, I thought that you were harmless, that your disgusting habits affected no one but yourself. But I've seen otherwise. We can all see how you have built yourself a coven, choosing humans that show promise of gifts, and then forcing them to deny their re-birth rights as you do, to degrade themselves by preying on animals as if they were nothing more than humans with a skin condition! You have broken the laws set forth to protect our kind, made friends with our enemies, and plotted to overthrow the Volturi. You are a traitor, Cullen. And the time has come for you to pay. The price is your existence, and those of the rest of your family."

I barely had time to register my disbelief at how deluded Caius was before he started in on his tirade against the wolves.

"You..." Caius continued, his face crinkling in disgust. "You vile, hairy, slobbering beasts. Your despicable scent is reason enough to kill you. But I am a just ruler, and only use my power when it is called for. Your charge is simple enough: you know our secret, you have killed our kind in the past, you plan to do so again. The world will thank me for exterminating you."

I was surrounded by growls and snarls, coming from both the wolves and the members of my family. Caius's "charges" had infuriated everyone on our side of the clearing. My own hands were curled into tight fists as I struggled to stay in control of my emotions. I wanted to scream at Caius, tell him just what I thought of his egotistical diatribe, but I knew that I was supposed to let Carlisle be our spokesman, so I bit my tongue.

Aro, who still stood very close to his brother, was somehow the only person in the clearing who seemed to be keeping his cool. I didn't understand it at all when he began to reply to Caius, both his posture and his tone of voice remaining calm.

"Caius, my brother, _per favore. Nonlo faccia._ I'm begging you. You are not thinking correctly anymore. I cannot allow you to do this. Just stop now, and you will merely be imprisoned. There is no need to make this worse."

I wondered if Aro really thought that would work. I sure didn't. The question was quickly answered when Caius stepped toward Aro, his eyes narrowed.

"I would rather die than leave this clearing without ridding our world of the aberration that currently stands in it."

Carlisle took this moment to interrupt, taking an angry step forward. "That could be arranged, Caius."

Caius whipped his head around, glaring for just a moment at my husband, then looked across the field. "Akiko!" he called.

A tiny Japanese vampire looked up immediately, and I waited for her response, but it never came. Instead, I stood frozen and watched as the vampires that circled the field started moving in toward us. I was grateful for my strengthened vision and mental abilities, which allowed me to see everything happen at once.

And _everything_ was absolutely insane. I watched in shock as the Volturi turned on themselves: Felix and Demetri grabbed Renata from behind, ripping her head off and tossing her casually into the fire that burned behind them, and then moved onto Aro. Rather than kill him, though, they each grabbed an arm and held him still. At the same moment, Alec and Jane were pinned by two male vampires I didn't recognize, one of whom looked Russian, the other probably Central or South American. Heidi was grabbed and held in a chokehold by Afton.

A moment later, however, Carlisle gripped my hand tightly, and I immediately knew that something was wrong. Even more wrong than everything I could see before my eyes.

"Run, Bella," he whispered anxiously. "Run like hell. Use your other senses until you can see again. Just get out of here – our babies can't be orphaned."

I repeated his words in my head several times, trying to understand what on earth he was talking about. The phrase "until you can see again" confused me. I could see now. Then it hit me – my gift. Perhaps I could see, but Carlisle could not? Had the Japanese vampire used a power that I was protected from by my gift?

"Carlisle? You can't see?" I asked softly.

"No," he replied. "And listen to the sounds around us; no one else can see either. But you can?" I whispered my assent. "Good. It will be easier for you to get away. Now run, my darling. I love you."

"I'm not going anywhere, Carlisle," I hissed. "I am not leaving you. I can see; that means I can help."

My husband sighed, resigning himself, as he knew his was not the time to argue with me. "Don't let them know you can still see. Tell me what's happening."

I quickly filled him in on everything that I had just witnessed, the whole time trembling as I realized how much danger we were in. My entire family stood, blind and helpless, surrounded by vampires who wanted us dead.

I thought of Jacob, my best friend, who told me that I could save everyone. I thought of Edward, who had at one time been sure that my gift was enough to block those of the Volturi. I thought of Esme, who had jumped in front of Rosalie and I, to protect us when we were being attacked, risking, and losing, her own life to do so. I remembered her words when she appeared to me the night before my wedding. "I couldn't leave my family in better hands than yours."

I wasn't sure that I had a gift that could help me. I wasn't sure that I had the insight or intelligence to outsmart the army that surrounded me. The only thing that I was sure of was that I loved my family, with every bit of my heart, even though it was no longer beating. They believed in me. And despite the fact that I had yet to figure out how I could help, their belief was suddenly enough to make me believe in myself.

A moment later, the world around me went dark, and I heard Carlisle gasp. I stood stiffly beside him, gripping his hand tightly, terrified by the fact that I could no longer see.

"Bella," Carlisle whispered in a worried tone. "What's wrong?"

"Now I can't see either," I replied.

"Either?" he said, sounding confused. "Bella..."  
I heard footsteps approach from behind, and tensed for a moment before I recognized the scent that came with them as Eleazar.

"Bella's gift," Elly whispered to my husband. "There's more to it than I knew before. Bella has extended her shield out to protect the rest of us."

"But she's left herself unprotected in the meantime?" Carlisle asked, panicked.

I smiled. "The third wife," I said, finally understanding.

"No, Bella!" Carlisle demanded, still whispering. "Stop it now. I will not let you sacrifice yourself for me!"

"Carlisle, I'm doing what I am supposed to do. Don't be afraid," I said, willing myself to be calm. "I'm not. You fight, I will protect you." I smiled, feeling even more sure than before. "Jasper," I called softly. I waited until I could hear, smell, and feel him beside me. "Jas, you need to kill Chelsea. I can handle whatever anyone throws at me, but her power..." I shivered. "She's the key, Jas. That's what Aro was trying to tell me. Just get rid of her. Fast."

Jasper gripped my hand and squeezed. "Carlisle," he drawled. "Do not leave her side. Protect this woman at all costs, you hear me?"

"As if I could do anything else," Carlisle replied, lifting my hand to his lips and placing a soft kiss on my knuckles.

He dropped my hand, and I listened as both of them walked away from me. I stood silently in my place and took a deep breath. This was it.

Caius POV

I stared at the imbecile I had once called my brother with satisfaction. Aro's gift had always made him think he was superior to the rest of us, that he knew better than anyone. I chuckled to myself. For once, he had been taken by surprise, and the credit was all mine.

Aro stood quietly, blinded by Akiko's gift and held prisoner by Felix and Demetri. I stepped closer and addressed him.

"Oh, _caro fratello_, your time has finally come. This time, Aro, I am the victor. Before you meet your end, though, I will let you watch as your "dear ones" turn their backs on you and promise their loyalty to me." I turned to address the members of the guard who had yet to join my army, even though they could not yet see me. "Members of the guard, the time has come for you to make a choice. I am benevolent enough to give you this last chance. Join me, serve in the army of my empire, and you will be safe. Refuse, and you will die alongside the one that you have called master."

"Never!" cried Heidi. "I am loyal to the Volturi, you have shown that you are not. I will never join you!"

Fighting to control my rage that someone dare refuse me, I blew out a hard breath before responding. "Then you shall be the first. Afton," I called dispassionately, waving my hand toward Heidi. "Kill her."

My servant put his hand on Heidi's forehead and prepared to do my bidding, but was distracted by a tenor screaming the word stop over and over. I immediately heard the Australian inflection in the word, and sighed heavily, rolling my eyes.

I was really growing irritated with the minions causing disruption in my well-laid plans. I had so wanted these proceedings to run smoothly, offering a show of my power to begin my empire. I would be sure to punish every disturber of my day severely when it was over.

Turning in the direction from which the yells were coming, and saw Lachlan running toward us at top speed from across the clearing.

I held up my hand, demanding that he stop. "What is your problem, Lachlan?"

"Please, Master, spare her," he pleaded.

"It is not your choice to make, Lachlan. Heidi has made her loyalties known, are you doing so now as well?"  
"Master, give her another chance, please," he replied. "I love her," he added in a hushed tone.

"Lachlan, whoever is loyal to me will live. If she chooses not to join us, she _will_ die. It is your choice if you'd like to join her. This is your moment, boy. Decide where your loyalties lay."

I watched as he looked at Heidi, pleading with his eyes, and she shook her head no. Lachlan, his shoulders sagging, paused for a moment, then turned to look over his shoulder at his friend, and one of my most prized servants, Jack. Jack nodded his reply to Lachlan and strode toward us.

"E tu, Brutus?" I whispered, recalling the words that Julius Caesar had once spoken to his second in command when he was betrayed by him. In that moment, I saw my mistake. I had trusted Jack, despite knowing that he had once betrayed his own sire. Of course, I had blamed Benito, sure that, had he been a better leader, he would not have faced mutiny from within. But where was I now? I had been a wonderful leader, a just and honorable one. I would have been an excellent emperor. Instead, my own army was turning on me.

Luckily for me, I was not without other options. "Chelsea!" I roared, knowing that she could use her gift to bring all three of my betrayers back to my side. Their loyalty would be forced, but I only needed it to last through this day. Once we returned triumphantly to Italy, they would pay.

I waited for Chelsea's reply, but was met with silence. Furious that I should have to ask twice, I was just about to call her name when a scream and a terrible keening filled my ears. The noise was one I was very familiar with – a vampire had just had a part of themselves torn off. I turned quickly toward the sound and was met with a most unpleasant sight: the blond empath – Major Whitlock, though he was now known as Jasper – was throwing Chelsea's headless body into the flames.

My eyes met his for only a moment before I returned them to the fire, watching the blue smoke rise from it as Chelsea's body was burned. I stood stoically as I watched her existence come to an end, my own plans for the future dying in the same flames.

Jasper POV

Standing in the clearing during all of the arguing had been so difficult. The intensity of the rage rolling off of Caius since he began to speak was making it extremely difficult to keep myself calm. It was even harder to stay calm when I suddenly went blind.

Even when my vision came back, though, I still couldn't find calm. The emotions that Carlisle and Bella were feeling let me know that something still wasn't right. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long to find out what it was, as she called me over to her.

Bella's instructions were given so calmly; I couldn't help but admire my sister. She wasn't motherly like Esme had been, but here she was, putting herself on the line for the rest of us. For the first time since Esme's death, I swear I could feel her presence. She was right there inside my sister.

I left my instructions with Carlisle and motioned silently for Emmett and Eleazar to follow me. It should have been hard to sneak around the clearing in broad daylight, full as it was of vampires, but everyone was so focused on Caius's insane ramblings that the three of us were able to move about unnoticed.

I stopped us about midway around the field and gave Emmett and Eleazar their orders. This wasn't going to be easy, but it was clear to me that Caius needed to go down just as much as Chelsea, because there would certainly not be peace for any of us otherwise.

Chelsea was standing in the very back corner of the triangle formation, so it was relatively easy to reach her undetected once I had gotten to that side of the field. I looked over my shoulder, giving the guys one last smile as a warning that I was going in for the kill.

It couldn't have come at a more perfect time. Just as my hand covered Chelsea's mouth, preventing her from screaming, Caius called for her, wanting her to use her power to force one of his soldiers to remain loyal to him. I let go of Chelsea's mouth as soon as her hair was firmly gripped in my fist, and let her scream as I ripped her head right from her shoulders, tossing it directly into the fire.

I felt Emmett and Eleazar step up behind me, their satisfaction at our success somewhat stronger than their nervous anticipation at what was about to happen. Caius, however, was a completely different story. For just a moment, as he stood watching the flames turn Chelsea into ashes, he was radiating defeat and resignation, but then he turned his back on the fire and looked up at Aro, determination and anger back in full force. It was unbelievable, how stubborn this vampire was.

As the last of Chelsea disappeared, the bonds that her gift had created broke apart, and the clearing became a place of utter chaos. I stepped back from the Volturi, toward my brother and Eleazar, not wanting to get caught up in the melee.

It only took seconds for everything to happen. Afton ran to kneel beside the fire, completely forgetting the fight that was happening in the clearing as he mourned his lost mate. I could feel the devastation that he felt; it was painful, heart-wrenching, yet did not touch what I had felt from the losses that had been experienced in the same field five years before.

Heidi, obviously feeling the bonds created by the love between mates stronger than anything else, ran to the brown-haired Australian vampire who had stood up to Caius moments before, and his friend, Jack, who moved to stand in front of the lovers, protecting them from Caius. I watched with a smile as Heidi buried her face in her new mate's shoulder and he wrapped her tightly in his arms. What a miracle, that love should come in the middle of war.

The pair of Japanese vampires, one of whom I knew was Akiko, took one look at each other, then turned their backs on the field, running away at vampire speed. A part of me wanted to give chase, but I knew there were more important issues to deal with in this field.

A vampire with nearly white hair came running at top speed from behind my family, not stopping until she reached the side of one of Caius's men on the left side of the field. At the same time, the wolves began to move toward their enemies, still seething with anger and ready to fight.

As Akiko's blinding power began to end, the Volturi faithful found themselves surrounded by those still loyal to Caius. Aro, his personal guard having been quickly destroyed, was being held on either side by Felix and Demetri. Aro, to his credit, remained steadfast and calm.

"I ask you once again, Caius, to surrender yourself. You've lost several of your followers already, I assure you that you will not leave this clearing alive if you choose to fight," Aro declared.

"May I remind you, _caro fratello_, that you are the one being held while I stand free?" Caius sneered.

"_Nonlo faccia_," Aro said for the second time. "Do the right thing, brother. Do not do this."

"The right thing?" Caius roared in response as I began to move closer to him, directing Emmett and Eleazar to shadow Felix and Demetri. "The right thing is to rid the world of the ones who wish to throw it away. I will fight to the death to do it, and, should I die, be remembered forever as a hero."

I rolled my eyes as I heard his words, amazed at how deluded the man had become. I was close enough to him now to attack, but was distracted for a moment by a sudden feeling of resignation coming from Aro. I looked up at him, and he met my eyes with determination and resolve. He nodded to me once, and I understood.

I caught Emmett and Eleazar's attention, and mouthed my instructions to them, then held up three fingers, silently counting down to coordinate our attack.

It happened quickly. Emmett grabbed Felix, Eleazar took Demetri, and they used the combination of strength and surprise to pull them off of Aro, though Demetri's grip had been so tight that he took Aro's arm with him.

Aro, not seeming to notice the loss of his limb, put on a determined look, and yelled, "_Per la mia gente!_" Then he ran at top speed toward his brother.

As Aro ran at him, I launched myself onto Caius's back, grabbed his head tightly, then used my feet on his hips to push myself off of him hard, taking his head with me. The second that my body left his, Aro crashed into him. The thunderous crash of their bodies meeting was deafening. I stretched my arm as far as I could, managing to grip the edge of Aro's cape in an effort to keep him from falling into the fire, but I was moving with too much force, and the fabric ripped in my hands. Thus I watched, helpless, as I fell to the ground, Caius's head securely in my hand, as Aro, off-balance due to the loss of one arm, could not stop himself from tumbling into the fire with his brother.

For a moment, time stopped as everyone registered shock at the deaths of two of the three Volturi brothers. Quil, still in his human form, was the first to move, motioning for a wolf I recognized as Embry to follow him as he ran toward Marcus. Marcus, seeing him coming, immediately held up his hands in surrender. This was a situation that Quil and I had previously discussed, so I turned my back on them to face the two Russian vampires that were running toward me.

For the next few minutes, I saw only bits of pieces of what was happening around me, as I was locked in combat with the Russians. Several of the Volturi surrendered to Quil without any resistance, Felix and Demetri fought Emmett and Eleazar, both of whom had now been joined by wolves. The woman I had seen rush across the field earlier, as well as her mate, fought Alec, and I caught a glimpse of his body being thrown into the fire with the others just before Jared and Seth attacked the two who had killed him.

My attention was again diverted by the Russians fighting me. They had obviously been trained well in combat, and, especially fighting two against one, were not making it easy on me. Over and over, I attacked and retreated, trying to protect myself from one while attacking the other.

And then, a howl broke through the din, and everything happened at once.

I looked away from the woman I was fighting to see why the wolf had made the cry, and saw Seth on the ground, bloody, with Jared standing over him. An agonized scream came from the other side of the field, and I immediately recognized it as Bella. I watched in awe as her entire body convulsed, knowing instantly that it was Jane attacking her. Carlisle's viscous snarl told me that he knew that too, and I watched as he ran at Jane, protected from her power by Bella's shield, and threw himself at her, attacking her violently for the pain she was causing his wife. Jane, however, did not stop smiling, and I felt her giddy enjoyment at finally being able to work her gift on Bella. I was so caught up in watching Bella suffer the intense pain that I barely saw Alice running toward me, a horrified look on her face.

And then, time stopped.

The keen of vampire flesh tearing pierced the air as Carlisle ripped off Jane's head, but the sound was too close to me to have come from Jane's injury. The agonized cry that emerged from deep within Carlisle in the next second harmonized perfectly with the shrill scream that I heard coming from my wife, and I watched in horror as Bella fell to the ground just before my world went black.

**A/N: A little help on the Italian:**

_**arrestilo**_** = stop it!**

**_caro fratello_ = dear brother**

**_nonlo faccia _= don't do it**

**_per fevore_ = please **

_**per la mia gente **_**= For my people**

**Ok, I am running to hide now. Click the review button and tell me what you thought!**


	47. 45 The Aftermath

**A/N: S. Meyer owns all recognizable elements of Twilight. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed, your support means incredible amounts to me. **

Chapter 45: The Aftermath

AlicePOV

I spent most of the battle standing beside Bella, protecting her from anyone who might come near. She was a vampire now, but thanks to her gift, she was the only one of us who was completely vulnerable. Luckily, guarding her had been fairly easy, as the rest of the family and the wolves had fought so aggressively that no one had even gotten close. This meant that I was free to watch everything as it happened in the clearing.

It was difficult, watching the fights as they happened without having my gift to help me See the outcomes. Having the wolves there made it impossible, though, no matter how hard I tried. That was why it took me by surprise when a vision suddenly hit me as I was watching Jasper simultaneously fight two vampires that I didn't recognize.

The vision was one of the worst I've ever had, despite it's simplicity. It was of me, shuddering and shaking in Rosalie's arms just to the side of a fire. I focused on the flames themselves, and that's when I saw it – the worst thing I'd ever seen before: amidst the arms and legs that I could see slowly turning to ash was a head. A head covered in chin-length blond waves. Jasper's head.

A long, shrill scream pierced the air as I ran toward the man who meant the world to me. I could not allow that vision to become reality.

I ran as fast as I could, seeing nothing in front of me but Jasper. I was almost to him when he recognized my scream and his head snapped toward me. And then everything went wrong.

The blond woman on his right took advantage of his distraction, grabbing Jasper by the ears and twisting hard, ripping his head straight off of his shoulders. And despite the thousands of times I've hunted, and even the battle I had fought in the past, I have never felt more like a vampire than I did in that moment.

I launched myself at her, a feral-sounding cry escaping me as I flew through the air. I crashed into her and the two of us toppled to the ground, my husband's headless body landing just beside us. It barely took me a second to rip off the arm in which she held his head, laying it beside me on the ground before I returned to my violent attack on the woman who had just done her best to destroy my life.

My fists may have been tiny, but I pounded them into her so violently that her body was cracking and breaking apart under them. I did not stop my assault until I was grabbed from behind by a pair of strong arms, holding me tightly, not letting go no matter how hard I struggled. I screamed for help. I screamed for release. I screamed for Jasper.

It took several minutes before I understood that the person who held me so tightly was my own sister. Rosalie never let go, never stopped trying to soothe me with her voice. But the fact that she held me, combined with the warmth I felt from the flames that burned so close by, and the sweet perfume in the air that I knew came from the burning bodies in those flames, did anything but soothe me. I trembled in her arms, my eyes closed, chest heaving with sobs, and begged over and over again for Jasper.

I don't know how much time passed between that moment and the next one that I remember; it seemed like years. When I opened my eyes, feeling emotionally exhausted from the sheer amount of time I'd spent crying, I was inside the Forks house, on the couch, still curled up in Rosalie's arms.

"Jasper?" I whispered, looking up at her.

Rosalie tried to smile, but wasn't really successful. "He's alive...sort of," she replied. "Carlisle doesn't know what's going on. He's not fusing together."

"Where is he?" I said, my voice shaking.

"He's upstairs on your old bed. I don't think you should..."

"I can't leave him alone," I interrupted, letting go of her and rising off of her lap and starting toward the stairs without hesitation. There was no doubt in my mind that what I was about to see was going to be impossible, but neither was there a question of whether I could not go. Jasper was my everything, and I wouldn't let him face this alone.

I sat by Jasper's side for several hours, nothing really changing. Every once in a while, Rose or Emmett would come in for a bit, checking to see if anything had changed, and giving me an update on the others. Bella was downstairs in the bedroom that she shared with Carlisle; she had yet to regain consciousness. None of us had ever seen a vampire react this way, thus no one knew what to do. Seth, too, was barely hanging on to life, laying out in the backyard, still in wolf form, surrounded by the rest of the Pack. Carlisle himself was moving helplessly between the three, wracking his mind for some way that he could help them.

My visions of the future, which I kept searching in hopes of finding a different outcome, remained unchanged; over and over again I saw my family visiting graves. After each one, I laid my head down on Jasper's bed, my forehead against his hand, my chest heaving with large, tearless sobs.

Suddenly, I was caught in a new vision. In this one, I stood, wearing a beautiful violet dress, a happy smile on my face as I looked up at Jasper, who looked incredibly handsome in a suit. Behind us, slightly blurred because of my focus on Jasper, I could see the rest of my family, also dressed in formalwear.

"Carlisle!" I cried as I came out of the vision.

A moment later, he came running into the room. It was painful to look at him, really; I'd never seen him appear so broken since the battle with Victoria took Edward and Esme from us. He looked at Jasper, then back to me, several times, furrowing his brow. "What is it, Alice?" he asked.

"My vision changed. Whatever idea you just thought of to try, you need to try it."

Carlisle shook his head, looking confused. "But I didn't think of anything to help them, Alice. All I thought was that maybe we should call Charlie, let him bring the twins home, that way they could all say good-bye to Bella... Oh my God! Why didn't I think of this before?"

He took out his cell phone immediately and I listened as he spoke to Charlie, telling him to get to the airport as soon as humanly possible. I waited, rather impatiently, until he finished the call, then immediately demanded to know what was happening.

"Lily," he said softly. "I think that her power may be able to help them."

My family spent the night at the bedsides of our loved ones, waiting on Charlie and Sue to return with the twins. It had to have been the longest night of my existence.

As the sun finally reached it's highest point in the sky, I heard the sound of gravel under tires, and I knew that Bella's father had returned. We all quickly ran to the door to meet him, and shepherded him into the living room.

Once we were all sitting down, Carlisle kneeled down in front of Charlie to break the news.

"Charlie, I'm afraid that I don't have the best news. The fight with the Volturi army went, in some ways, better than expected. That was thanks to Bella. However, to save us, Bella gave up her own protection." Charlie gasped, his hand coming up to cover his mouth, and the horror was clearly seen by anyone who looked at his eyes. Carlisle only nodded. "She's alive, Charlie. Well, as alive as any of us can be, I suppose. But... She endured an extreme amount of pain, and she won't wake up."  
Carlisle turned to Sue, who sat beside Charlie. Even though Carlisle had talks like these all the time as a doctor, it was very clear that this was impossible for him.

"Sue, Seth was injured as well. Usually the wolves heal very quickly, as you've seen. I'm not sure why this time is different. He's hanging on, but barely."

I watched as the tears streamed down both Sue and Charlie's faces. Oliver, who sat in his grandfather's arms, reached his tiny hand up to touch Charlie's cheek. A moment later, Charlie spoke to us.

"Oliver says that Lily wants Bella," he said, his voice shaking.

Carlisle reached out and took Lily from Sue, cradling her in his arms. "I'll take you to see Mommy," he said softly. "But you need to visit Uncle Seth first. He needs your help."

"Carlisle," I whispered. "I'm going to wait with Jazzy. If it works..."

"When, Alice," he replied confidently. "When it works. I'll see you up there."

I nodded slowly, too afraid to be as confident as he was, and walked back upstairs to wait with my mate.

CarlislePOV

I carried Lily out to the back yard, doing my best to disguise the utter terror that I was feeling. If this didn't work, I knew of no other options. Shaking my head, I cut off that line of thought. I had to believe it would work.

Quil stood and walked toward me as I approached where Seth laid. "Carlisle," he said softly. "It's not looking good. Please tell me you've got another plan."

I sighed. "I know, Quil. I've brought Lily down to see Seth. Her gift is a sort of healing power. I can't make promises – we honestly don't understand just how it works yet – but she might be able to help him."

Quil nodded, and we walked down to Seth together.. I took a long look at Seth, who looked even worse now that the last time I saw him. His breath was coming very slowly in short wheezy pants, and though I could hear the weak beat of his heart, it was much slower than it should have been.

I was understandably hesitant to lay my infant daughter down beside a wolf, especially one who wasn't really in a state of mental clarity After a moment's thought, I laid down on the ground beside the large grey wolf, wrapping my arms around Lily to form a protective cocoon. I really had no idea what to expect, or how to gauge whether Lily's efforts were successful or not, so I just laid there, praying for a miracle.

I didn't have to wait long. Lily reached her tiny hand through the space between my arms and caught a bit of Seth's fur. It seemed a touch was all that was needed. Only a few minutes after I arrived with my daughter, Seth began to chat with his pack brothers. It was an amazing change, and though he still had much bone repair to achieve, it was clear that he was out of the woods.

I rose from the ground, and after handing Lily to Quil, checked over Seth, wrapping his broken bones tightly so that they'd stay in place as his body healed them. Once I was certain that he was taken care of, I took my daughter back into my arms and let Quil know that I was returning to the main house to try to heal Jasper and Bella.

We went to Jasper's room first, as I decided that he was in worse condition than Bella. Alice sat, just as she had all night, right by his side, holding his large hand and stroking it gently with her fingertips. I could hear her soft whispers as she spoke to her husband, but did my best not to listen to her words. The intense emotional depth of Jasper and Alice's relationship had always had a way of making one feel like a peeping tom, even when they were simply sitting together. This moment was no different.

"Alice," I said gently, not wanting to startle her. She looked up at me, hopeful. "It worked for Seth. Would you mind holding Lily next to Jasper?"

Alice reached her arms out and took the baby from me, and I stood back against the far wall and watched in nervous anticipation as Lily's hand rested on her uncle's arm. Once again, the effects of Lily's gift only took moments to become evident, and I watched in amazement as the two halves of Jasper's neck began to fuse together.

Alice was watching too. Expecting her reaction, I walked over quickly and took the baby from her arms. I took only a couple of steps backward, wanting to stay close enough to be sure that Jasper was completely out of the woods before I moved on to my wife.

Only seconds later, I heard a soft, deep moan - one I immediately recognized as Jasper's - and Alice gasped. As her whispered I love yous and words of gratefulness to God poured from her lips and her body heaved with sobs of relief, I quietly slipped from the room with a smile upon my face.

It was time to wake my wife.

It was almost odd to me that seeing Bella "sleeping" now was so terrifying, especially since it had been only a few short months that had passed since I spent every night watching her sleep. But Bella was a vampire now, and there was nothing about an unconscious vampire that was normal.

Bella lay in the center of our bed. She hadn't moved, spoken, or even opened her eyes since her collapse on the battlefield. I looked at her as she lay there, looking delicate and weak, so unlike the warrior she had seemed to be on the battlefield.

"Bella, sweetheart," I called as I sat down on the bed beside her. I wasn't certain if she could hear me or not, but, like when she was in her change, I hoped that knowing I was there could bring her comfort. "Lily is here too, Bella. She wants to help you feel better."

I laid down beside her, with Lily in between us. Lily's hand was immediately on Bella's arm, and we settled in to wait.

"You were so strong, Bella, so amazing out there in that field," I whispered. "You made everyone so proud. I know that if Esme saw what you did, she'd be proud too. Your love for us, your willingness to sacrifice for us, was stronger than every weapon the Volturi had. And now, my love, our love for you will be stronger than the pain you're in. Strong enough to bring you back to us."

"I'd never leave you, Carlisle," came Bella's weak whisper as I felt the fingertips of her hand that I was holding gently press against my palm.

I suddenly felt like I needed oxygen, even though I knew that I did not. The relief was as if a thousand boulders had just been lifted off of my chest. Every prayer I had had just been answered. My family was whole.

Once the initial high of Bella's recovery wore off, my mind was free to think about other issues. Issues like the collection of vampires currently under guard in the garage, waiting to be dealt with. These were the ones who had surrendered to us willingly. I knew that I could not keep them waiting much longer, but I was reluctant to leave Bella's side before she was completely healed.

"Carlisle," came another soft whisper from my wife.

"What is it, my love?" I replied in earnest.

"I'm so thirsty."

Of course she was. I couldn't believe that I hadn't thought of it already. As weak as she was, and as much as she had withstood on the battlefield, blood was certainly something that she needed.

"I'll send Emmett out to get you something to drink right away, Bella. Do you mind waiting here while I go into the giving room to ask him?"

Even in her delicate state, Bella was still Bella, and she groaned. "Carlisle," she scolded. "I will be just fine on my own for a bit. Go get Emmett. And while you're out there, take care of anything else that needs taken care of. I'm sure you haven't left my side since you brought me back to the house, however long ago that was."  
I chuckled softly. There was no question that my wife knew me. "There's not much to do, Bella, and you were by far my priority."

"If there's not much to do," Bella replied. "Then please go do it now. I'd like it if, when I am strong enough to walk out of this room, our lives are ready to live again." She gave me a small smile, and I completely understood her meaning.

As much as I hated to leave her, my wife was right. "I will take care of everything, my love. You rest, and your brother will be here soon with a drink for you," I said, kissing her forehead before I climbed out of the bed. I walked toward the door, and turned to her one last time before I walked through it. "I love you, Isabella Cullen."

"As I love you, Carlisle," she replied, extending a great deal of effort to raise her hand to her lips and blow a kiss to me.

Stepping into the living room, I found most of the family there, waiting for news. The smile on my face was more powerful in this situation than words could have been, and Charlie's eyes immediately filled with tears.

"My little girl?" he asked.

I nodded. "She's going to be just fine, Charlie. She's awake now, but she's still weak." I turned to Emmett. "Could you please go get your sister something to drink? She needs to regain her strength." Emmett agreed right away, taking Rosalie by the hand and running out the back door.

Now that everything else was done, I knew that I couldn't procrastinate in my talk with Marcus any longer. I looked over at Eleazar, who was sitting with Carmen near the fireplace. "Elly? It's time to deal with those who surrendered. Could I ask for your help in this matter?"

"Si, claro," he replied, giving his wife a soft kiss before rising and walking over to stand beside me. "Are you ready for this?" he asked.

"Of course he isn't," came a deep voice from the stairs, laced with laughter. The smile that crossed my lips upon hearing it could not be stopped.

"Jasper!" I exclaimed, thrilled to see him up and walking.

He smiled back, almost a smirk. "You didn't think I'd let them keep me down for long, did ya? And I sure as hell know you didn't think you were gonna handle all this without your major. Because I know damn well I'm not getting left out of all the fun!"

I laughed out loud, the first real laugh I had experienced in I couldn't remember how long. Our Jasper was back.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Jasper," I replied, clapping him on the back when he was close enough to reach. "Come on, then. We've got work to do," I said, leading Jasper and Eleazar out toward the garage.

A few minutes later, I was standing with Jasper to one side and Eleazar to the other, facing Marcus, the last remaining leader of the Volturi, as well as the seven others who had surrendered. Looking at the group before me, I saw four that I recognized from the Volturi guard, plus three strangers.

"Before we begin," I said. "I'd like to know to whom I am speaking. Some of you are strangers to us. Marcus," I continued with a respectful nod. "You, of course, we know. But if the rest of you would please introduce yourselves."

The Guard spoke first, citing their names as Afton, Corin, Santiago and Heidi. Next came the Australian vampire with curly brown hair who had started much of the commotion on the battlefield the day before.

"My name is Lachlan," he began. "And this," he continued, gesturing to the tall blonde who stood by his side; the one who I remembered having come to his aid to protect Heidi. "This is my best mate and my sire, Jack."

The final vampire, who appeared to be from South America with his olive-tinged skin and long black hair, spoke next. "I am Estevan, from Sao Paolo, Brazil."

I thanked them all for their cooperation, then addressed Marcus. "My family did not fight this battle to gain power over our kind. We did not fight because of a grudge that we held against our leadership, or these nomads," I continued, gesturing toward the newcomers. "We fought because we, and our friends, were under attack without cause."  
I paused for a moment, wanting my words to be absorbed. "You eight have surrendered to us willingly. The Volturi has lost a great deal of their numbers, as well as their legitimacy, I believe, as the choices which brought you all to the clearing here in Forks bring into question your ability to use your power justly, as well as the decision to have one group having power in our world. At this moment, with the Volturi either dead or captured, it seems to me that our kind has no leadership.

This brings us to the point of our conversation. You eight chose not to fight against us. That decision is the reason that we did not end you, as well as the reason that we are willing to work with you on making an agreement for how our world is to proceed from this point. Marcus, are you amenable to such a discussion?"  
"I am," Marcus replied with a nod.

I smiled, relieved that this discussion would be without major conflict. "Good, let us begin, then."

The talk took over an hour, but it was extremely productive. Marcus was not the least bit disagreeable, and was more than willing to give up all rights to leadership. However, his actions in the moments before the battle began convinced me that he was, in fact, right for the job, and his unwillingness to take on sole leadership of our kind only made me more sure that I was right.

Several arguments into the discussion, an agreement was finally reached. Marcus would, in fact, be the official leader of the vampire world, but his role was more symbolic than anything. He would be supported by a council, and therein would the real power lay. The council would act as a judicial body when a vampire was brought to Volterra on charges of breaking our laws. Marcus would act as the judge, the council as the jury. The point being to ensure that justice was realized.

The council was nominated during the conversation, and while some of it's members took on the roles somewhat reluctantly, everyone was happy with the end result. The council consisted of myself, Eleazar, Maggie from the Irish coven, whose gift enabled her to tell truth from lies, Estevan, the Brazilian nomad, who informed us that his gift was the ability to see the past through touch, and Peter, an old friend of Jasper's, whose intuition Jasper swore by.

The council would only need to appear in Volterra when needed, but one member was to report there monthly to be sure that Marcus and his guard were carrying out their responsibilities properly. In the end, it was an agreement that everyone was happy with, and we released all of the captured vampires with the agreement that future problems with any of them would result in their immediate execution.

Once everyone left the garage except for myself and Marcus, I turned toward him and shook his hand once again. "Thank you, Marcus, for all of your cooperation today, and your attempt to stop things during the battle. I have always thought you honorable."

"Carlisle, I only did what I did because it was right," he replied. "I have lived a very long time, my friend. Much of that life has been dark and lonesome. I know that, after having lost your own mate, you can understand my plight. I do not wish to live this way any longer, Carlisle. I understand that you wish for me to continue on as ruler, but I am asking you to choose someone else, and to grant me one favor."

I cocked my head to the side. "What favor do you ask of me, Marcus?"

"End me, Carlisle. Put me out of the misery I have so long suffered."

I drew in a sharp breath. Certainly he could not ask this of me. Killing someone who was attacking me or my family in a battle was a necessary evil. But to end Marcus's existence for no reason?

After a long pause to think, I finally answered him. "Marcus, I do understand, better than many people, the pain of losing one's mate. But the difference between you and I," I said, placing my hand on his shoulder. "Is that you gave up living when Didyme's life ended, while I did not when I lost my Esme. I tried to keep living, and that is how I found Bella."

I paused, and then smiled when Marcus looked up at me.

"Come inside with me, Marcus. Sit with my family and see it for yourself. The bonds between us will convince you that there is yet hope for you. If you will do that, and give yourself twenty-five years in which to try to live again, I will agree to do as you ask at the end of that period if you are still unhappy. Does that seem fair to you?"

Marcus considered it for a moment. "Take me inside, please. I'd like to see the bonds of which you speak."

I smiled, relieved that he was accepting my bargain, and led him into my house.

I rejoined Bella in our room as soon as Marcus and I had come back into the house, laying down beside her and holding her close against me. We didn't speak much, but that was only because there was nothing that needed to be said. At that moment, everything of importance was simply the feeling of closeness that we were sharing.

A few hours later, after Bella had drunk a thermos of deer than Emmett had brought back for her, she was feeling strong enough to get out of the bed. I waited patiently while she showered and changed her clothes – she was still rather filthy from her fall in the clearing – and then the two of us joined hands and walked into the living room.

The sight that met us when we entered was enough to warm my long-dead heart. In one room sat my entire family: Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Carmen and Eleazar; Charlie and Sue; the twins; and every member of the Quiluete pack. Marcus sat quietly beside them, with Corin and Santiago beside him, the only members of the Volturi who remained in Washington still. And, despite the hatred and tension that a week ago would have filled the room, the only sounds that I could hear were those of laughter and pleasant conversation.

Bella and I entered quietly, and thus did not disturb the scene before us, instead stopping a few feet away to watch the magic as it continued. A small movement caught my eye, and I looked over to see Oliver reaching his hand up to touch Charlie's face. The next second, a wide-eyed Charlie turned in my direction and saw me standing there with my arm around his daughter.

Charlie silently handed Oliver to Sue, then rose from the couch, his suddenly-empty hands seeming to move erratically as they searched for purpose. His eyes were glistening with tears as he took a step toward us, his daughter's name falling from his lips in a soft whisper of disbelief.

For a moment, I was worried. I hadn't forgotten Bella's last encounter with Charlie. But a second later, my wife showed me that there was no need for my nervousness as she let go of my hand and walked directly to her father, embracing him.

We all stood, frozen in shock, watching the two of them embrace. I looked over at Jasper, hoping that he was closely tracking her emotions, but he just smiled at me.

Finally, Bella pulled away from Charlie and looked over her shoulder at me. "There's nothing to be afraid of anymore, Carlisle. Everything is just fine."


	48. Epilogue

Epilogue

-25 years later-

Carlisle's POV

I strolled down a long corridor, toward the chamber near the back of the Volturi castle. I wasn't ready for this. Not that an extra day or two would have helped – I didn't think that I would ever be ready for this day to come. I'd always thought that time passed quickly for vampires. Often, years went by in the blink of an eye for us. It's something that happens when you live forever, I suppose. But the past twenty-five years seemed to have passed even more rapidly than usual, no matter how much I wanted to grab on to each day, holding tightly to it so that it would stay with me in more than memory.

For twenty-five years, I had lived in peace with my family; my wife, my children, and my "brothers" and "sisters". I had done the thing that no vampire ever expects to be able to do; I had watched my children grow up.

My son, Oliver, was now a handsome young man, an amazing artist and poet who had a penchant for deep thought and soulful musing. He felt things in a way that rivaled Jasper's abilities, and never ceased to amaze me. Like his mother, he loved the freedom of riding a motorcycle, and ever since he had learned to ride one, he'd often taken off for long weekends spent in in solitude in the woods, on top of a mountain, wherever he could find beauty in nature.

My daughter, Lily, well, there was no young woman more beautiful than her in this world, I was sure of that. Her heart and her incredibly ability to love rivaled that of my wife. She was incredibly intelligent and could always be found reading, whether it was non-fiction or a novel as simply a matter of her mood that particular day, but by the time she was twenty years old, her knowledge rivaled that of vampires who had been on this earth for hundreds of years.

Watching the two of them grow up had been nothing short of amazing. Their bodies matured in half the time that it takes a human, but the changes seemed to have stopped around their tenth birthday, so their bodies are frozen at approximately twenty years old. They still retain human habits, such as eating and sleeping, though neither of them requires more than three hours of sleep a night anymore, and both will tell you that they would rather drink blood than eat food.

Bella and I had been blessed, of that there was no question. Our existence had been filled with happiness and laughter and love since the day she woke after the battle. Something about that day, we have always assumed it was the unimaginable torture she went through when she felt every attack that was made on the rest of us, tamed the beast within her, ending her struggles for control. After that, being a vampire was a much more pleasant experience for Bella than her first few months had been.

One of the biggest blessings that came along with that had been the ability to keep Charlie and Sue in our lives. I doubted that there was anything that Charlie loved more than being a grandfather, and no matter where we were in the world, we visited with him monthly. I was sure, in fact, that Oliver's quiet personality and love of nature had a great deal to do with all of the time he spent with his grandfather.

Over the years, we'd continued to move often, an unavoidable issue, especially while the children were growing, but the younger Cullens had never returned to high school. Instead, their time had been spent in college, studying a variety of subjects that peaked their interest, or, more recently, working. We'd spent the last five years living in New York, and for the first time ever, each member of the family had taken a job. Alice worked as a fashion buyer for Macy's, Jasper was a very popular history professor at NYU, Emmett had found a position that he loved as a sports announcer (for radio, of course, as television wasn't really an option), Rosalie was working as a counselor at a battered women's shelter, and Bella found herself a position as a librarian. I, of course, continued to work as a doctor.

I paused as I reached the turn in the hall, taking out my cell phone and dialing Marcus.

"Buon pomeriggio."

"Hello, Marcus," I replied. "I'm just calling to ask one question. Are you sure you are ready for this?"

"I have never been more ready for anything in all my years, mio amico," he said.

I sighed. This was really going to happen. I really was not ready, but I had no choice. A promise was a promise. "I'll see you soon," I said before ending the call.

I resumed my earlier pace, making my way down the hall toward the room in which I was expected. I had spent so much time in this castle during the past twenty-five years, chasing my young children through the corridors during the earlier portion of that time, that I knew every stone like the back of my hand. I smiled, thinking back to the games of hide and seek and marco polo that had been played within these walls. The children had often engaged members of the Guard or the Council in those games; no one, it seemed, was immune to their charm.

Finally, I reached the door to the chamber. I knocked softly, then turned the handle to enter, knowing that I was expected. As I stepped into the room, I was met by the beautiful smile of my loving wife.

"We're all ready here, Papa," she said, stepping aside to reveal my daughter standing behind her, looking like nothing less than an angel in her wedding dress.

My hand came up to cover my mouth, and I could feel the venom stinging in my eyes as I took her in.

"You are breathtaking, Lily," I whispered.

My daughter flashed me her gorgeous smile, and walked over to wrap her arms around me. "Is Marcus ready?" she asked.

"Your fiancee is more than ready to make you his wife, my darling girl," I answered.

Her smile lit up even more. "Let's go, then. I don't want to keep him waiting."

A few moments later, I was walking my daughter down the aisle.

Hours later, as the reception was winding down, I stood beside Marcus and watched as Bella danced with Oliver and Lily danced with Charlie. I looked over to the man who had long been my friend, and was now my son-in-law.

"I know I don't have to tell you to treat her right," I said. "So my only advice to you is to never forget how blessed you are."

Marcus smiled. It was a true smile, one that lit up his eyes with happiness. The kind of smile that had gone hundreds of years without gracing his face. "I will never forget that, Carlisle. Your daughter has changed me, healed me, reminded me of what love and happiness truly are. Years ago, I asked you to end me. Thank you, my friend, for knowing better than I on that day, and for giving me the chance to know love that makes me feel alive once again."

I clapped him on the back, understanding exactly how he felt. "Bask in it, Marcus. The way you feel now, it's the way I felt years ago when I made Bella my wife." I looked over at him, giving him a knowing smile. "It's the way I still feel today."

The song changed, and I immediately recognized the opening notes of Frank Sinatra's You, My Love. I smiled, knowing that Bella was behind the song choice, as it was the first song that we had danced to as husband and wife.

I nodded to Marcus, giving him a wink. "I'm going to dance with my wife. I suggest you do the same, son."

The two of us smiled at each other and walked over to the two most beautiful women in the room. As I neared Bella, I nodded to my "brothers", standing just behind Bella on the dance floor, their wives by their sides. Every one of them wore a smile on their face. While it was a difficult thing, as a father, to give my little girl away to another man, this was a happy day for my family.

As Charlie walked away from Lily on his way back to Sue, wiping tears from his eyes, he paused by my side, resting his hand on my shoulder. "You did it, Carlisle. Hardest day of your life, but it's the best one too. Your little girl gets to be happy and loved, just like you've always wanted for her. Congratulations."

I knew he was right, and whispered my thanks to him, then smiled as I watched Seth step away from his mother, walking quickly back to Lizzie, the young woman he'd imprinted on in Seattle two years earlier, so that Sue could embrace Charlie on the edge of the dance floor.

Finally reaching my wife, I tapped Oliver on the shoulder. "Mind if I take her now?" I asked with a smile. Then I gestured over his shoulder, toward where Tanya was standing. I had noticed the way she was looking at my son all evening, and it wasn't the way I had seen her look at any other man in all the time I'd known her. She wasn't looking at him like he was something to be conquered, but rather like he was something to be cherished. "I think there's someone there who would like to dance with you," I advised.

I chuckled as I saw Oliver's eyes widen in surprise as he saw to whom I was pointing, and smiled proudly as he walked over to Tanya and offered his hand.

With one last look over my shoulder to see my daughter, resting her head against her new husband's shoulder as they danced, I pulled Bella into my arms, holding her close as we swayed to the music.

"I love you, Carlisle Cullen," she whispered.

"As I love you, Isabella Cullen. Now as much as ever," I replied. "And for all of eternity."

Author's Note:

Marcus, in my story, should be pictured as Benecio del Toro, not the odd looking guy in the movie. Pictures of him and the twins as adults can be found in my profile.

I started writing A Light in the Darkness 15 months ago, because I wanted to read Carlisle and Bella together and wasn't finding very many options, even less that I thought were decent. I had no idea, when I started writing, what this story would become, what it would mean to me, and the doors it would open for me in the fandom. Writing this series, especially Basking, I got to know some of my reviewers, made friends with them even. Today, I can count some of my reviewers as real life friends; the kind of friends that I talk to constantly, visit, share the good and bad of life with. That, in itself, is one of the greatest things, in my opinion, to have come from this story.

The experience of writing this, though, was amazing. I look back at earlier chapters sometimes and cringe, but I like knowing that I've grown as a writer through this story. A big part of that growth is due to reading some other amazing authors, beta-ing for other stories, and working on my own writing with my beta.

I have a few people that I'd like to thank:

First, to every single person who has read my work, Thank you. Your support has meant so much more than you'll ever know. If you had any idea how I laugh, squee, grin, etc while I read reviews... You make my day every time.

Second, to my friends, especially those of you who supported me on Twitter when I wanted to kill all my characters during the writer's block, who cheered me on when I finally was writing, who talked out chapters with me when I wasn't sure, and who entertained me with Pfach porn when I was in a bad mood... Every one of you means so much to me, and you know that. Brook, Chris, Tiff, TV, Mommy D, Izzy, Wendy, Heather, Kristine, Kendall: Thank you all so much.

And finally, the person who, when it comes to this story, I owe the biggest debt of gratitude. Babe, I would never have been able to do this without you. For every late night, early morning or middle of the day when you've talked me off the ledge; for every little thing you've caught that I wouldn't have noticed; for every time you've helped me figure out how to make something work; for "super cum" and every PM, gchat, skype, text and call since: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I love you.

I would love the chance to thank every one of you personally for taking this journey with me. I always reply to reviews, so if you have any comment to make about this story and what you thought of it, I would be thrilled to hear it one last time.

And with that, I hit complete.


	49. Outtake 1: Charlie learns the truth

Chapter 33 Outtake: Where the fuck do I live?

Charlie's POV

I was kind of tired as I made my way home from work tonight. Living in a small town meant that there was hardly ever a big case to work on, just smaller ones, like petty theft, speeding, underage drinking... That was the one that pissed me off. And it pissed me off today because I had been forced to spend the day buried under a mountain of paperwork after busting up a party thrown by that moron Newton kid. Stupid fool let the kids who work in his parents' shop come and drink, and now I had to deal with it. I knew Mr. Newton had big plans for Mike to take over the business, but if that kid didn't quit fucking off, he'd never make anything of himself. And to think I once thought Bella should date him. I shook my head and shuddered at the thought – at least Bella had enough sense to choose a good man.

I smiled, remembering that my daughter and her new husband would be waiting for me at home when I arrived. I hadn't seen her since they left for their honeymoon the night of her wedding, and I had missed her so much. It's funny how someone you barely even know can be the complete focus of your life. That's how Bella was for me. We'd spent so little time together, but she meant everything to me. I was so excited to see her tonight.

When I walked through my front door, I called out to Sue and Bella as I hung up my gun belt and jacket.

"In here, Charlie," called back the lovely alto of my fiancee. I still felt a little surprised sometimes, when I thought of her as my fiancee. I had been alone for so long – ever since Renee ran out with a baby Bella and broke my heart. I felt so good to be in love again.

I walked into the living room from the entranceway, meeting Carlisle at the doorway. I could never quite get over how young my son-in-law looked. He was quickly closing in on forty years old – just a few years younger than I was myself, actually – yet he looked like he was fresh out of college.

I looked him over as he shook my hand in greeting. Not one hair out of place – never was. He looked just the same as he had the day I met him, and every day since. As my eyes crossed over his face, I realized I was wrong. While he still looked mostly the same, a close observer could see the change. And being the police officer that I was, I saw it right away. It was his eyes – those odd golden eyes. They sparkled in a way they never had before, betraying a happiness even greater than what I had seen the day he married my baby girl.

"Good evening, Charlie," he said.

"Hello, Carlisle," I replied. "Nice trip?" I was still trying to figure him out as we spoke.

"Yes, sir. Thank you." Who was he kidding, calling me sir? I wasn't more than five years his senior. I appreciated his good manners, though. I always had.

"Certainly you aren't calling me 'sir', Carlisle?" I teased, slapping him on the shoulder. _Man, he must work out. That's the hardest block of muscle I've ever felt. Well, at least he can protect my baby._ "I'm not _that_ old."

"Of course not, Charlie," Carlisle replied. His voice was softer than usual, and I could hear the nerves that colored the tone of his voice. He was hiding something. But what?

"Where's Bella?" I asked, excited, but suspicious.

"I'm right here, Dad," came the sweet voice of my daughter from behind him. Carlisle, who I'd noticed the last time we were together very rarely took his eyes off of my girl, turned toward her voice. And that's when I saw her.

"Bella?" I asked, confused. Confused as to why my daughter, who had only been married a few months, had a large, swollen belly.

"Hi Dad," she said, her cheeks flushing red. Then, as if to confirm my suspicions, she placed one hand over her belly. "Surprise, Grandpa."

"Gr..gr...Grandpa? But... You just... How?"

I felt my body react to her words, and I wasn't sure my legs could support my weight any longer. Carlisle suggested I sit, and I immediately complied. I was so surprised, and not quite sure what to make of things. I turned to look at Sue, who squeezed my hand and smiled. My mind was spinning so fast that I could barely keep up, trying to sort out all the information that I had: my baby was pregnant. Too pregnant. I could hear Carlisle's voice faintly behind me, but didn't register the words. I saw red. He promised me. He promised to respect my little girl! _Where the fuck is my gun?_

"Carlisle, my daughter has been pregnant for quite some time," I said firmly. I was pissed. Livid even. Not only had he broken his promise and taken advantage of my daughter, but he hadn't even had the courtesy to tell me for months! "Why in the hell have you not told me before now?"

"Charlie," he began, his voice much too calm. That pissed me off even more. "We have only known about the pregnancy for a little over a month."  
_Bull shit._ The cop in me answered even before the dad. This was Dr. Carlisle Cullen I was talking to. He was the most respected surgeon this town had ever seen. He didn't think I was stupid enough to believe that a highly qualified doctor such as himself couldn't recognize the symptoms of pregnancy?

"Now, Carlisle, surely you don't expect me to believe that! You are a doctor for god's sake! Don't tell me you thought Bella was just gaining a little weight around her middle!" I was yelling by now.

"No, Charlie, I am not telling you that at all. I..."

I interrupted him before he could continue. I was done with listening to bull shit tonight. "I'll tell you what you did! You defiled my daughter before you married her and then tried to hide it! You promised me, Carlisle Cullen!" I roared, my hands curling into fists. I knew Bella would get mad if I punched him, but it was a really hard urge to fight.

"Dad!" Bella cried out. Her face was red with embarrassment, and I felt bad for her. I supposed she didn't want me to know what she had done any more than I wanted to know it.

Suddenly, my fury dissipated, and was replaced with an odd sense of calm. _How the fuck did that happen?_

"Charlie, please, I'm begging you to let me explain. I promise to tell you the truth, all of it."

For some reason, I couldn't grab a hold of the rage that had been consuming me, and the desire to fight with him had passed by. Despite a lingering sense of foreboding, I nodded my head, allowing him to continue.

"Charlie, there is much to explain, so I am going to ask you to please listen to me. The reason that I have only known of Bella's pregnancy for a short time, despite the fact that it appears to have progressed significantly, is that she has in fact only been pregnant for about three months." I opened my mouth to object, but he held up his hand to silence me. "Charlie, Bella's pregnancy is not typical. It has progressed rapidly, about twice the usual rate for a human pregnancy."

I caught that last word, but it didn't make sense. "Human?" I choked out, confused as to its usage.

"Yes, Charlie, human. Something I am not."

_Well fuck me. _With the speaking of that sentence, Carlisle had brought forth a memory that I had so wanted to forget – the day I saw my soon-to-be-stepson walking naked in the backyard only seconds after he appeared out of thin air in the exact spot that a wolf had been standing. I never asked, never even mentioned that day to anyone. Why would I? I liked my job, and I don't think the town was interested in having an insane police chief. But now, it seemed like insanity wasn't my problem. Weird ass shit was my problem.

"Are you a wolf?" I asked calmly, trying to ready myself for the answer. I heard Sue gasp beside me. I wondered if she knew about Seth. Carlisle looked pretty damn surprised himself. No one answered. I was not in the damn mood for silence. I wanted answers. Now.

"Well? Are you? A wolf? You know, like Seth," I said matter-of-factly.

Sue choked. "How do you know about that, Charlie?" _Alright, well at least that answers one question. She does know. Had Harry known?_

I explained to her about the morning I had seen him change. I told her about how I added up all of the clues – the howling, the sightings of giants bears _(yeah, wolf Seth was fucking huge)_, the behavior of all the boys on the rez. Come to think of it, I suddenly remembered the old legends that I had heard from Harry and Billy so many times, always thinking of them as the stories that they were, when really they were true all along.

_But Carlisle is very white. He is not a Quiluete. I think he's British, actually._ I shook my head, trying to make my mind catch up.

"How long have you known?" Sue asked.

"A little over a year," I answered her.

"And you didn't say anything?"

"I figured if anyone wanted me to know, they'd tell me," I said with a shrug. "But that's all beside the point." I turned back to Carlisle, hoping that he could help me make sense of all of this nonsense. "So, you're a wolf?"

"No, Charlie. Only the Quiluetes are wolves. My family and I are vampires."

I think only one second passed, but it could have been a year as my mind suddenly understood. The hardness, the cold hands, the pale skin...the way they all looked alike yet weren't supposed to be related... The Quiluete legends...

I laughed, the kind of laugh that sounds a little bit crazy. Probably because this moment was nothing but crazy. It took me a minute to calm down enough to speak. "Where the fuck do I live?"

"Forks, Washington, Charlie. It's apparently the center of the supernatural world," Alice replied. Hearing her sweet little soprano, I suddenly remembered that the adorable little pixie was acually a blood sucking creature of the night, and I started laughing all over again. _God, I bet police chiefs in other towns don't have to deal with this crazy shit._

Suddenly, I had a lot of questions. I looked at my son-in-law. "Carlisle, how is it that you are a vampire and my daughter is alive?" It was a good question, I thought. A damn good one. I was a good investigator.

"We only drink from animals, Charlie. And we would never harm Bella."

I supposed that was a good answer. It calmed me down at least. The only...ate?...animals. I guessed that was okay. I ate animals too, after all. _Maybe we could even share meals?_

"So how does this all work?" I asked, ready for more details. Carlisle explained about how a person becomes a vampire, as well as how one died. That, however, brought up several questions. If only another vampire or a wolf could kill them, how did Edward and Esme die? I wasn't sure I wanted the answer to that question.

"So how old are all of you?"

They took turns answering. I have to say, I was a bit shocked to hear that my 23 year old daughter's older husband was a hell of a lot older than I had originally thought.

"Wow. And to think I thought you were too old for my daughter. Whole new ballgame now, huh son?" I said with a smirk.

"I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you before, Charlie. You must understand, there are rules in our world. We have something like a royal family who enforces these rules. All the rules boil down to one, really, which is that humans are not to find out about our existence. I'm risking my life by telling you this tonight."

I have to admit, that little confession was worrisome. I knew that Carlisle was being honest, and if I was too, I would have to admit that the idea of anyone hurting my son-in-law made me ill. And then I thought of something even worse.

"What about Bella?" I asked.

"They already know that Bella knows. Those days that Bella disappeared with Alice? She was in Italy, where they live, rescuing Edward." _Huh? I thought they were in Los Angeles? _ "I know, Charlie, it's a lot of information. That's a long story that is really not important. What is important, however, is that you understand that this information must remain secret, just life Seth's secret."  
"Who could I tell? They'd lock me in a padded room!"

"I trust you, Charlie. That's why I told you. Bella knows our secret, and the Volturi – the royals – know that she knows. They accepted this on the condition that we make her a vampire like us. It's very likely that her change will take place when she gives birth to the twins, as I'm not sure she will live through the delivery otherwise."

"Twins? You're having twins?" All serious thoughts were gone. I could barely even care that Carlisle had just mentioned my daughter becoming a vampire like him. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. I was gonna be a grandpa. To twins! I knew there was a stupid grin on my face, but I couldn't help myself.

"Yes dad," Bella said, grinning. "A boy and a girl."

I jumped up and went to my daughter, wrapping my arms around her. "I love you so much, Bella. This is all crazy news, what you told me tonight, but I want you to know that I love you, whether you're the human that you are now, or a vampire, or a wolf, or any other thing that I don't know about yet."

"Thank you, dad. I love you too."

"Charlie, you need to understand that, once Bella becomes a vampire, she'll not be able to be near you for at least a year or two. In the beginning, it's very difficult to be around people without wanting to..."

"Eat them?" I supplied.

"Yes," he answered, slightly embarrassed. "But, as you can see, the three of us are fully in control, so there will come a time when you and Bella can be near each other again."

"And the babies?"

"I don't know. They want blood, I can tell you that much, but not much else. It's something that we'll have to determine after they arrive."

"Well, alright." I agreed, disenchanted. I took a minute just to be quiet. I'd just heard a lot. A lot of weird and crazy that no one would ever believe. I only believed it myself because of what I had already seen. My baby girl was going to be a vampire. My baby girl was giving me two grandbabies. The two thoughts warred back and forth inside my head.

"Charlie, why don't we excuse ourselves for the night, and give you a chance to think. We'll see you tomorrow at the rehearsal dinner. Is that alright?"  
"Yeah, Carlisle. That would be good." I agreed, shaking his hand. I really did need a minute. This was just a lot to take in all at once. "Don't know how I never put it all together," I mumbled. "Cold, stiff, pale..."

"Your daughter is probably the only one who ever figured it out on her own, Charlie. Don't be too hard on yourself."  
"You knew, Bella? The whole time?"

"I did, Dad. I knew since the day before I went to their house for the first time. It didn't change anything for me though."  
"It really doesn't for me either, honey. I'm a little bit surprised is all." My words were completely true. It didn't really matter that much. Carlisle had obviously been a vampire the whole time I'd known him, so I couldn't think less of him. He was a respectable man. Or vampire... Whatever. Just like Seth was a wolf. I suppose it doesn't matter _what _you are, just who. I let go of Bella and turned back to Carlisle. "Thank you for being honest with me, Carlisle. I don't guess I could've kept my daughter if you hadn't, right?"  
"That's right, Charlie. I couldn't do that to you."

"No, I guess not. Sometimes it takes being a father to understand how one thinks." His life was about to change, I knew that. I think he did too, he just had no idea how much.

We said our goodbyes, and escorted them back to their rental car. I kissed Bella one last time on the forehead, then went back inside.

"So you've known all this time?" Sue asked.

"Yeah, Susie Q, I knew. I wasn't sure if you did, though, and I didn't want you to be scared."

"I knew. I've known all along."

"Can you tell me about it?"  
"The day that Harry died – that's the day that they changed." I could see a bit of a shimmer in her pretty black eyes, but she didn't let the tears fall. I wrapped her in my arms and held her tight. It was all I could do to soothe the pain that the past left on her heart.  
"They?" I said a minute later, when I realized I didn't understand her usage of the word.

"Yes, they. Seth and Leah. The shock was so much that it gave Harry the heart attack that killed him. Harry knew there were wolves – his grandfather had been one as well. But the next two generations didn't change, so it was still a huge shock when it happened. Leah was the only female wolf ever."

"What do they...?"  
"They're just like the boys you always knew, they just have the ability to change their form now. Their job is to protect people from vampires." I looked at her nervously. "The wolves, like Carlisle told you, are the enemies of vampires. But Carlisle and Billy's grandfather made a treaty many years ago, making a tentative peace. It wasn't until Carlisle and his family came back to Forks and the new generation turned that the relationship between the Cullens and our tribe became one of respect and friendship. There's much you don't know, Charlie, and much I should tell you..."

She started to shake a bit in my arms, so I kissed the top of her head. "You can tell me whatever and whenever, Susie Q. You'll be my wife in two days, and we've got the rest of our lives for you to share all the secrets, alright?"

She nodded her head, and I held her close. I knew there was still so much I didn't know. Maybe I'd never know all of it. What I did know, though, was that this town was certainly not what everyone thought, my son-in-law and his family were vampires, my stepson was a werewolf, and my daughter was just about to give birth to twin babies that were only half human. All the new information was making my head spin.

I picked up the Vitamin R that Sue had left on the table for me, and took a big swig. My new family might be crazy, but I loved them, and I was going to hold onto them for all I was worth.


	50. Outtake 2: Daddy's Not For Dinner

A/N: SM owns Twilight still. Thanks to my awesome friend BamaBabe for looking this over before I posted it.

Outtake #2: Daddy's Not For Dinner

Charlie's POV

Since the minute they were born, Carlisle had been real good about sending me pictures and texts full of the latest news of my grandbabies. Even so, nothing could have prepared me for the minute I opened the door to see them on my doorstep in the arms of my gorgeous daughter the vampire and her vampire husband.

Nope, it didn't sound any less weird if I said it more often.

There they were, though, a sight for sore eyes. Bella was holding Oliver close, hiding her face in his hair just like she always used to hide behind her own. Oliver's chubby cheeks dimpled as he grinned at me, and I was shocked to see just how bright the blue of his eyes was in person. Lily was in Carlisle's arms, her face shaped just like a heart, smiling as she looked at me through Bella's old eyes. Those eyes, those deep brown eyes that I had thought I'd never get to see again, were the end of me.

I couldn't stop the tears. I knew why they were here, of course, and I was scared, but it was still the happiest moment I could imagine to have them all with me at this moment. I stepped forward, wanting to wrap my arms around my daughter and hold her in my arms like I used to when she was a little girl. I couldn't protect her anymore, but that didn't mean I didn't want to.

Carlisle stopped me in my tracks, though. "It's not safe yet, Charlie," he said. "Bella hasn't been around humans yet, and though she hunted this morning and shouldn't be thirsty, it's better that you don't take the risk."

I nodded and took a step back, trying to hide my disappointment. I had to. I'd had to argue pretty hard with Carlisle to get him to bring Bella with him. He thought I was being dumb and risky. I thought I was being a dad taking advantage of what could be his last chance ever to see his daughter. So I smiled. I didn't want to make my little girl feel bad. I knew how lucky I was to be able to see her at all, so I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I led my family into the living room, where Sue was waiting anxiously for her turn to hold a baby. She was just as excited as I was, but I guess she'd spent so much time around the wolfpack that she was better than me at following the rules. Carlisle gave her Lily, and Sue sat playing happily with the little angel, barely giving a notice to the rest of us. Bella still hadn't lifted her face from Oliver's hair.

"Are you all ready for your travels?" Carlisle asked. "I certainly hope you enjoy your time on the island."

I nodded, trying to focus on the good part of the trip. "I wish it wasn't under these circumstances, but I can't deny it's gonna be real nice to take my girl and our grandbabies to the beach." As I said it, I kept my eyes on Oliver, who was making the cutest damned baby noises. Then, a thought struck me. "Did you pack sunscreen? They're so pale."

Carlisle laughed a little. "As far as I can tell, Charlie, the sun can't hurt the twins, though you'll probably notice that it makes them shimmer a bit. Not a full-on glittering effect like you saw with us, but a slight shimmer."

I just nodded. One more weird vampire thing to remember. Sure seemed to be a hell of a lot of those lately. A second later, Carlisle took Oliver out of Bella's arms and held him. I spent the next few minutes just staring at my daughter, whose change into a vampire had made her even more beautiful than ever. I'm pretty sure that Carlisle was talking to me, telling me something or other about the house on his island, but he had completely lost my attention the second I saw Bella's face.

I couldn't stop staring at her, noticing each change, finding my Bella still there despite the differences. Nothing could have distracted me, not until Lily screamed. I panicked. There was no way I could let my little granddaughter get hurt on my watch. So I ran to save her.

Or at least I tried to. The next thing I knew, I was on my back, pinned to the floor by my own daughter, who suddenly looked a lot less like my little girl and a lot more like a wild animal out for my blood.

Shit.

Bella was on top of me, moaning. That is not generally something a father wants to say. But it's even worse when she's moaning because she thinks that you're gonna taste really good when she eats you.

I needed to think of something. And I needed to do that really fucking quick, before Bella made a meal out of my O positive.

"Bells? Bells, please. It's me... Charlie," I stuttered. "It's Dad. Please, Bells."

Bella didn't bite me. That was good. She didn't get off me either, though, and she sure as hell didn't look like she was planning on it.

"That's right, Bells. You don't want to do this. Come on, baby, please," I pleaded. "Please don't hurt Dad."

For however long we'd been on the floor, it had seemed like the whole world disappeared except us. This was exactly what Carlisle had been trying to warn me about over and over, but I had refused to listen. I loved Bella too much to let a little fear keep me away from her. And I had to believe, right now, that she loved me too much to let herself go through with making me her dinner.

Bella was shaking her head, and it seemed like my daughter was inside the vampire, trying to fight her way out. I was just about to try talking to her again when Oliver beat me to it. The sound of his cry from behind us was gut-wrenching. My grandson was scared. I wanted to run to him, but I couldn't really get up.

His cry was the thing Bells needed, though. She turned back from Oliver to me, and I could see the terror in her eyes.

"Oh my god...Dad..." she whispered, then jumped off of me and ran out of the house.

I laid on the floor for a few minutes, trying to calm my heart a little. I needed to move soon, though, I knew that. My poor Sue had to be scared shitless, especially seeing as how Harry had died. I didn't want her to think that I was going to have a heart attack and die on her too.

I sat up, and reached my arms out toward Carlisle. "Give me the baby, son. You have a wife to catch, I think."

He looked down at me, obviously concerned. "Are you alright, Charlie?"

"I'm fine," I replied, smiling a little before looking serious again. "But you need to go get Bella. Tell her I'm alright, and that I want her to come home." Carlisle looked at me like I had suddenly turned into a vampire too. "What?" I asked incredulously.

Carlisle just shook his head. "Now it all makes sense," he muttered.

Taking the baby out of his arms, I raised an eyebrow at my son-in-law. "What makes sense?" I demanded.

"Bella," was his only reply before he chuckled lightly and ran out the back door.

It took some time before they came back to the house, but I was so caught up with the babies that I barely noticed. Lily wrapped me around her finger even quicker than Bella did when she was a newborn, and Oliver kept putting his thoughts in my head over and over, and I was just amazed by him.

I was laughing hard, caught up in a story that Oli was showing me about his Aunt Alice and how many times she had changed his clothes in a single day when I heard Bella call my name softly. I looked up and saw her standing there with her head hanging low.

"Now you stop that right now, Isabella Marie," I demanded. "Don't you walk in this house with your head hanging like you're guilty of a crime."

Bella didn't move, and I saw in her the little girl I had once known, the one who tripped in the garage and knocked over a whole bucket of bait right before a big fishing trip. It was an innocent mistake, something she couldn't help, because, well, Bella was Bella. She was clumsy and always tripping over something, it's just part of who she was. And she stood in front of me, her head handing low and tears rolling over her cheeks as she confessed. She was no more to blame today than that day, I knew that. I just had to convince her of it.

"Bells," I began again. "I can see the guilt in your eyes. It's okay, Bells. I'm not mad. I don't blame you. I knew the risks. Jasper came over here last week to try to talk me out of seeing you. He used that magic of his and showed me exactly what it felt like when you want blood. I get it, baby girl. And I'll stay back here, away from you, if that will help you. But I need you to know that I love you. You are still my Bella."

I could hear her sniffling, and I hated it. I felt guilty for asking her to come. If I hadn't been so damn adamant about seeing her, none of this would have happened.

"Dad," she whimpered. "Dad, I'm so sorry."

"Hey, Bells," I said, smiling. "I forgive you, okay? Our lives are a little different now. We just gotta adjust the house rules a little, to accommodate, you know?"

She looked up at me with curious eyes. I saw Carlisle smile, and felt encouraged.

"Alright then," I continued. "Rule number one: Daddy's not for dinner."

Bella's sad, uncertain face disappeared as she began to laugh. "I love you, Dad."

I smiled. "I love you too, Bells."

She stayed for about thirty minutes after that, but stayed on opposite sides of the room. None of us wanted to test Bella's limits again. We talked about what faced us in the future. Carlisle was certain that they were going to fight a large battle, one that could end badly, just like the last one had. I was worried, but proud of them for standing up for what's right. As we talked, I watched my daughter and her husband cuddle their babies, my heart swelling with love and pride as I did. This was my family. Weird as all hell, yes, but mine none the less. And in my heart, I held tight to the belief that everything was going to work out, and we'd all be back in this room again real soon.

A/N: Did you enjoy that? I really love writing Charlie's POV. There are 2 outtakes left.


	51. Outtake 3: Finding Hope in Light

A/N: Sorry again for the delay, RL has been insanely hectic lately. This outtake is Marcus's POV during the hours after the battle between the Volturi and the Cullens/Pack.

Thanks to BamaBabe, who, as always, is my fuckawesome beta and friend.

Stephenie Meyer still owns these characters.

Outtake #3: Finding Hope in Light

Marcus's POV

I had just been named the leader of the vampire world. It was very much a figurehead position, not wielding much more power than did the Queen of England, but it wasn't power I wanted anyway. No, what I wanted was relief.

Relief from the ever-present ache in my chest, the pain that had been present since they day I discovered my dear Didyme's ashes. I had not, since that day, had any desire to continue in this existence. It was the one reason that I had been willing to accept Edward Cullen's request when he came to see us in Volterra years ago. No one should suffer as I have, not for a single day, much less years, decades, or the millennia which I have.

As the rest of the committee left the garage, Carlisle approached me and shook my hand. "Thank you, Marcus, for all of your cooperation today, and your attempt to stop things during the battle. I have always thought you honorable."

I wasn't so sure I agreed with him. I had cooperated because I wasn't aware of any other option. But my thoughts of Edward, and the sudden memory of Carlisle's own loss, gave me an idea.

"Carlisle, I only did what I did because it was right," I replied. "I have lived a very long time, my friend. Much of that life has been dark and lonesome. I know that, after having lost your own mate, you can understand my plight. I do not wish to live this way any longer, Carlisle. I understand that you wish for me to continue as ruler, but I am asking you to choose someone else, and to grant me one favor."

Carlisle's brow furrowed, and he cocked his head to the side. "What favor do you ask of me, Marcus?"

"End me, Carlisle," I replied, confidently. Aro had refused me every time I had asked, but I was sure that Carlisle would not. He understood more than Aro ever could have; surely he'd agree to my request. "Put me out of the misery I have so long suffered."

I watched as he reacted to my words, my certainty and optimism fading as each second passed. I could see the struggle in his eyes. I knew his heart well, after so many years of friendship. It would be a difficult choice for him to make, yes, but I held on to the tiniest shred of hope.

He dashed it a moment later.

"Marcus, I do understand, better than many people, the pain of losing one's mate. But the difference between you and me is that you gave up living when Didyme's life ended, while I did not when I lost my Esme. I tried to keep living, and that is how I found Bella."

He paused for a moment, letting me think about his words. In some ways, what he said was true. I _had_ given up. The ashes that I found that day may just as well have been my own. But what was there left to live for? Didyme's death had taken half of me with her. Yes, Carlisle had found another companion, but that couldn't possibly compare to what he had before, with his mate, could it?

"Come inside with me, Marcus," Carlisle invited with a smile. "Sit with my family and see it for yourself. The bonds between us will convince you that there is yet hope for you. If you will do that, and give yourself twenty-five years in which to try to live again, I will agree to do as you ask at the end of that period, if you are still unhappy. Does that seem fair to you?"

I pondered his request. It was a very large request I had made of Carlisle, and truly, considering the way that time passed for our kind, he was asking very little in return. And I had to admit, I was a bit curious to see his bond with Bella. I had seen many time in the past the connection between Carlisle and Esme, and had also had the opportunity to witness Edward and Bella. I had never before, though, seen a vampire take on a new mate after losing the first. If nothing else, it would be interesting to see.

"Take me inside, please," I replied. "I'd like to see the bonds of which you speak."

He led me inside, but then excused himself to go to his new wife, who had been injured in the battle and was still recovering. Before he left, he requested I remain in the living room with the rest of his family until he returned.

I took a seat in an armchair near the fireplace, and scanned the room silently. There were three mated vampire couples in the room with me: Emmett and Rosalie, Jasper and Alice, Eleazar and Carmen. I was not surprised to see several of the young native men in their human form also in the room. I was, however, quite taken aback when my eyes fell upon a human man who looked very much like Bella, sitting beside a native woman, both of whom had infants in their laps. Infants who, from what I could gather, were not entirely human. I furrowed my brow, trying to understand.

"The children belong to Carlisle and Bella," came the soft voice of Eleazar. I knew the man well, he had served on my guard for many years, so I knew him to be honest. What I didn't know is what on earth he might mean by that statement.

"How?" I asked, my usual eloquence failing me in my confusion.

"It seems that it is not impossible for a male vampire to impregnate a human," he explained. "These two are the result of the marriage between Bella and Carlisle, prior to her change. Meet Oliver and Lily," he finished, gesturing toward the babies. "And holding them are Charlie Swan, Bella's father, and his wife, Sue."

I remained silent as I tried to process this information. It was unheard of, a vampire-human hybrid. Yet here it was, before me, not one, but two of them.

"May I?" I asked, walking slowly toward Bella's father. I stopped as I saw his body tense and his hands grip the small child tightly.

In my pause, I took the time to study the bond between the man and the child in his arms. I didn't often study human relationships, but this was intriguing to me. There was a brightly lit cord that wound between the two, equaled in its intensity on either side. From the child, the blue-green color of the cord spoke of unconditional love and admiration. From Charlie, the color was nearly purple, the red and blue swirling around each other so quickly that they were nearly impossible to differentiate. The man possessed the same unconditional love, yet added the flavor of nurturing and the desire to protect.

Even more amazing than this connection was the one that existed between the two children. The cord of light stretched between them, circling them both, and going back around so that it made the symbol of infinity. The light was so bright that it was nearly blinding. If I looked deep into the light, I could see every color of the rainbow, but a simple glance at it showed it to be completely white, reflecting it's purity. The cord was thick, thicker than any I'd ever seen, and I was sure that no amount of effort or magic, such as Chelsea's power, could have any effect on their bond.

"I promise, I will not hurt the child, Mr. Swan," I assured the man, once again reaching out in hopes that he would allow me to touch his granddaughter. "She is a miracle," I continued. "I merely wish to take a closer look."

I watched as he looked across the room, using his eyes to question the vampires in the room.

"I can't See, Charlie," Alice said. "But I believe him."

Charlie nodded his head and handed me the child. I took her into my arms and carried her back to the armchair, where I sat and looked into her face. The child was beautiful, without a doubt. I immediately recognized Bella's human eyes, though she otherwise resembled Carlisle quite significantly. I smiled down at her, and was surprised when my expression was returned.

After only moments of watching her expressions change, I heard the strangest sound come from my own mouth. I looked around the room, confused, my eyes finally stopping on Emmett, who was laughing quite enthusiastically.

"What is so funny?" I demanded, walking back to hand the child to her grandfather, lest I injure her.

The large vampire choked in his attempt to stifle his laughter, and looked at me with an expression of seriousness. "Your face, actually, Marcus," he replied. He quickly added, "With all due respect, of course. It's just... I've never seen anyone so confused by their own laughter."

"Is that what that was?" I asked, astounded.

Emmett simply shook his head. "You are a weird old man," he replied as Jasper joined him in laughter.

As the conversations around me picked back up, I sat back down in my armchair, silently contemplating the fact that I had just laughed for the first time in nearly a thousand years.

Nearly an hour later, my meditation was interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the hall. I looked toward the sound and was rewarded with the sight of Carlisle and Bella entering the room. Using my second sight, I immediately focused on the bond between them. My mouth fell open with sheer amazement as I did so. In all this time, I had assumed that they were companions, in love, yes, but never that they were mates. I had been wrong.

The cord of light that was strung between them was not merely one chord, but two, wound so that they wrapped around each other over and over again. One was the bright pink that I was accustomed to finding between a mated vampire pair, but the other was the yellow of friendship. In this one couple, the bond of each relationships strengthened the other, solidifying both. It was amazing.

For the second time in one day, I was witnessing nothing less than a miracle.

Though I closed my mouth for the sake of etiquette, I continued to stare in awe at the couple until Carlisle's glance caught my own. He smiled, but his eyes asked the question. My answer was a simple nod of the head, signifying my willingness to accept his terms. I still did not understand _how _this had occurred, but somewhere inside of me, optimism was born, and I hoped that my old friend would not be the only one to experience such a miracle.

A/N: What did you think of Marcus's observations? There are still 2 out takes to go...I'll do my best to get them up soon!


	52. Outtake 4: The Last One To Know

A/N: SM owns all recognizable elements of Twilight. My apologies for the ridiculously long wait between posting. I blame the giant black cloud that has hovered over my real life for the delay.

I am hoping to have the fifth and final outtake up this week as well. It would be all kinds of awesome if this fic made it to 3000 reviews. I'm just sayin.

This one is Carlisle's POV of how Lily and Marcus fell in love. It's told in snapshots.

**Outtake: The Last One to Know**

**CPOV**

My role in the governing council required me to make the journey to Volterra once every five months at the very least. If there was a problem requiring the council to meet at other times, then an emergency trip was made. That happened a lot the first few years after the war.

After everything that had happened, and how close we'd come to losing each other, neither Bella nor I took well to the idea of being separated for any length of time. And the thought of leaving my children... It just was not possible.

And so it was decided that all of my journeys to Italy would be family vacations. No objections were made by the others on the council or by Marcus himself. In fact, I had reason to believe, going as far back as the day of the negotiations that took place in my garage after the battle, that Marcus was quite pleased by my bringing my children to the castle with me.

At first, I believed that it was his desire to see them grow – for truly, it was astonishing, and not much can surprise a creature who has been on earth nearly since it's inception – that prompted his smiles at our arrival each time. As the years passed, though, I realized that I may not have been entirely correct.

March, 2 years after the battle

The castle of Volterra had always been a like a cold, uninviting, enormous mausoleum. Now, however, it was filled with laughter. That was due in large part to the two little vampire-human hybrids, who now seemed about five years old, who were leading a large line of vampires, many of them members of the Volturi Guard, through the halls in the manner of animals.

My children were irresistible; this was a fact that none in Italy, or anywhere, really, disputed. When Bella and I brought our children to Italy, scenes like the one before me now were as common in this castle as mass feedings had once been. I stood off to the side, leaning against a stone wall with one arm draped around my wife's shoulders, and watched with a smile on my face. Oliver was the first in line, his face red, yet gleeful, as he rounded the corner in front of us. He was jumping like a frog. Lily was barely a meter behind him, giggling and mimicking his movements despite the fancy dress she had worn for the journey at Alice's insistence.

Behind Lily was the sight that surprised me the most, though: Marcus. My old friend, the man who no one had heard laugh until the day that he held Lily in his arms, was almost unrecognizable as he hopped down the hall behind my children, his expression the picture of pure joy.

I squeezed Bella's hand as she leaned in to kiss me. I could feel her smile as her lips pressed against mine.

June, 5 years after the battle

Bella and I sat at the end of the great table in the newly-established dining room of Volterra Castle, mesmerized by the grandeur of the place. I had been surprised, but Bella was confused.

"I just don't understand _why_, Carlisle," Bella said with a furrowed brow. "No one here eats."

I nodded down to the other end of the table, where Marcus sat opposite our children, both of whom had notebooks open. This was "school" time for Lily and Oliver – Marcus had been present for many of the greatest events in history, and was therefore a much more engaging teacher than a textbook ever could have been.

Bella had not been here to observe with me the morning before this one, and was thus surprised when Heidi entered the large room. Heidi had once served as the "fisher" for the Volturi, using her alluring gifts to bring humans back to the castle to be meals for the guard. This time, however, she approached the end of the table, where Marcus sat with our children, carrying a tray of goblets.

I chuckled softly as Bella's eyes widened with understanding and surprise.

"This is new. Marcus discussed it with me yesterday. He felt uncomfortable with the old methods. I credit his attachment to our children, really."

"So what are they drinking?" Bella asked, an adorable furrow marking her brow. "Animals?"

I shook my head. "The guard, using my medical credentials, set up a blood bank. It's not entirely honest, I suppose, but it is preserving countless human lives, so I cannot deny it's benefit."

Turning back to the other end of the table, I watched as Marcus offered goblets to the children, then held his own up to them. "Shall we toast, my dears?"

My son and daughter nodded enthusiastically.

"Then here is to the future that we learn about and respect, the mistakes that we won't repeat, and the future that is filled with possibilities."

I smiled as I watched my old friend tap his goblet against those of the children, truly amazed at the change that had come over him these past few years.

December, 10 years after the battlefield

"I'm all grown up now, Papa?" Lily asked me with an eager grin.

I nodded sadly. She may have been excited about this, but as her father, it was not the easiest thing for me to accept that my little girl had matured completely. It had been over nine months since we'd seen any change in either her or her brother, and Eleazar and I had come to the conclusion that, much like the Quiluete wolves, my children were going to stop growing now that their bodies had reached maturity.

"Don't worry, Papa," she said, tenderly patting my hand. "I'll always be your little girl."

I sighed and pulled her close to me, hugging the beautiful young woman that had grown from the infant I'd held in my arms too few years before.

"You're like us now, my darling girl," I explained. "You still have a heartbeat and blood, but you won't change any more." I brushed her blond hair back from her face. "The whole world is in front of you, Lily. You can do nearly anything in it."

As hard as it was for me to accept that my little girl had grown up too fast, I was pleased with the fate she'd been given. Her genetic makeup protected her from the frailties of the human condition, yet gave her enough of it's benefits that she was not nearly so restricted as we vampires were.

"Can I go to Italy?"

I frowned. I had hoped that my offering the world to her would earn me a reply such as "I'd like to go to college," or "I'd like to learn to drive." Italy was a long ways away from our current home in British Columbia, Canada.

"Why Italy?"

"I want to go visit Marcus. He has such interesting stories, and there's so many books in his library that I haven't read yet..."

I didn't want to let her leave, yet I wanted less to hold her back from happiness. "Can you wait until my trip there for the council next month? I'll take you myself then."

"Yes Papa. Thank you," she replied, throwing her arms around my neck the same way that she had always done. It gave me hope that things might not be changing so much after all.

February, 14 years after the battle

I was sitting on the couch of my family's private jet beside Bella, kissing her softly as we flew through the clouds on our way to Italy. Oliver was up front with the captain of the plane, serving as first lieutenant. It was the last time he would have to do so – this trip would earn my son his pilot's license.

Truly, it was my theory that Oliver had pursued flight school for the sole purpose of visiting his sister more often. It had been four years since I took her to Italy per her request, and the current state of affairs was that she spent every other five month period there, returning to our family's home in North America on the alternating months. It had been hard on Bella and I, but even more so, I believed, on Oli.

The benefit of our son being in the cockpit, though, was more than the ease of making trips. There was also the added bonus of privacy for my wife and me. And I intended to enjoy every second of it.

Several hours later, Oliver's voice came over the plane's speaker system.

"Papa? Mom? Please stop whatever you are doing that I'm sure I don't want to know about and prepare for landing."

I shook my head, chuckling softly. My son had clearly spent too much time with his Uncle Emmett. The look on Bella's face brought back memories of her human years when her skin would turn pink with her embarrassment. Part of me missed those days, but our children, especially our son, had immortalized Bella's blush, and truly, I was very happy with my vampire wife.

We dressed quickly and resumed our seats just in time for Oli and the captain to set the plane on the runway.

I gave the pilot a black card, telling him that we would be three days in Italy and he should enjoy himself until I called for him to meet us at the airport, then Bella, Oliver and I took our seats in the back of the town car that Marcus had sent for us and rode into Volterra.

I've hadn't been as surprised in years as I was when I entered the corridor of the castle which housed my family's chambers.

"Do you smell that, Bella?" I asked, temporarily perplexed. "That's human."

"That's Charlie," Bella replied, grinning and dropping my hand to run to the open door from which the scent was emanating, Oliver following closely behind her.

I entered the room a few seconds behind her, in time to find my wife held tightly in her father's arms.

"Charlie! How are you?" I greeted, reaching out to pat him on the back, then turning to hold my arms open to my daughter, who was seated on the bed.

"Papa!" she exclaimed as she ran to me, embracing me. I breathed in the scent of her, reveling in it for a moment. She'd been away too long.

"I hope you don't mind me coming," Charlie said, smiling at me over the top of my head. "Lily sent me a ticket, and I thought it would be nice to time our visits together."

I, of course, did not mind. It was a pleasure to see my father-in-law, and even more of a pleasure to see how happy it made Bella. We spent a few minutes catching up before Oliver demanded that Lily take a walk with him.

When they were gone from the room, Charlie turned to me with a serious expression. "I just want to give you a piece of advice," he said. "Father to father."

I furrowed my brow at him, questioning what he might mean. "Alright?"

"It's hard to watch your daughter grow up. You know that. It's even harder to watch her fall in love. But you have to let her do it, Carlisle."

I swallowed hard, not liking the sound of what he was implying. Surely he was just warning me for the future. The some day that was very far from now.

"When the day comes, I..."

"The day is here, son," he interrupted.

"But surely Lily would have told me?"

"I don't think she knows yet," Charlie replied.

I looked at Bella, who did not appear to know any more than I did, then back to Charlie. "But then how...?"

"I watched her mother fall in love before her, Carlisle. A father just knows these things. Believe me, you'll see."

I excused myself a moment later, citing the need to greet Marcus, and left Bella with her father. I walked out of the room, deeply musing on Charlie's advice. I was not ready for this. Not at all. I hoped that he was wrong, but I knew the man well enough that even I knew that I was only fooling myself.

April, 17 years after the battle

For the first time in far too long, my friends and family were all gathered together. We had returned to Washington, just outside of Forks, for a wedding. It was finally time for Quil, the alpha of the Quiluete pack, to marry his imprint, Claire. It was an event that never could have occurred had Bella not entered all of our lives. As I stood near the back of the clearing where the wedding had taken place, I watched Bella dancing with Oliver and just smiled. Over and over again, for years, I had been amazed by this woman. Today was no different.

As I glanced around the clearing, I smiled with joy at the happiness that existed all around me. Years ago, we had been in a clearing much like this one, waiting for our complete destruction, or at the very least, the devastation of our peace and happiness. I truly believed that it was love, nothing less, that had saved us all.

As my eyes reached the area at the far right of the makeshift dance floor, I found my daughter, long blond hair blowing gently around her face in the light breeze as her hands gestured rapidly in front of her face, which was lit up with animation. She was talking to Marcus.

After Charlie's warning several years before, I'd taken to watching Lily's interactions with every vampire in Volterra. My father in law had not been wrong, no matter how much I wanted for him to be, though it took me two years to finally admit it. The way that Lily changed whenever Marcus was around was impossible not to notice. Her body turned toward him, almost unconsciously, and when they walked together, her gait matched his almost instantly. Her eyes were always on him if he was in the room, her gaze following his every movement, though she tried to hide it by angling her face down shyly.

Even more than Lily's behavior, though, I'd begun to watch Marcus. Despite all the time the two spent together, I'd yet to see him even attempt to flirt with my daughter. But I'd been in love long enough to know the signs. And Marcus was most definitely in love with my daughter.

I was so intent on watching the two of them that I barely noticed Jasper when he appeared at my side. I was startled when he spoke.

"He's different now," he observed.

"Very much so. It's there in his eyes. See how alive he looks now?" I turned to look at Jasper, smiling. It was hard to accept that my daughter was now a woman, but it truly warmed my heart to see how she had changed Marcus. "Have you ever seen a man that was so much in love, yet didn't have a clue?"

Jasper looked down, chuckling, then back up at me. "Yes, Carlisle. I do believe that I have."

He walked away, shaking his head and laughing still, to look for Alice.

November, 22 years after the battlefield

I had just parked the car in the garage after returning from a three-day hunt with Jasper and Emmett when my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Carlisle, honey, will you be home soon?" my wife's voice asked from the other end of the line.

"I just arrived, my love. Why? Is something wrong?"

"No, everything is perfect. But Marcus is here to you see."

Confused, I told her that I would be in the house within a minute, then, after reminding her of my love, I hung up the phone and turned to my "brothers".

"Marcus is here," I said, still trying to figure out why he might have come to America. Both men shrugged their shoulders, apparently having no better guess than I did, and we walked to the house together.

When I arrived in the house, I found Marcus waiting for me on the couch. I kissed Bella softly, then turned to greet him.

"It's nice to see you, my old friend. What brings you here?"

"I was wondering if we might have a talk?"

I nodded, gesturing toward the door in the back of the house. "Why don't we take a walk?" I suggested, assuming that whatever the subject of our discussion was to be, it was clearly something that he couldn't talk about in front of anyone else, otherwise he could have simply called me on the phone.

The two of us walked out into the woods behind my family's house at a human pace, neither of us feeling the urge to run.

"Carlisle," Marcus finally began, about a mile into our walk. "You and Bella were friends before you fell in love." It wasn't a question. He knew enough about my marriage and the bond that Bella and I shared that he didn't need to ask. "Is it common, then? To fall in love with your best friend?"

Was it finally the day?

"I don't know how common it is, Marcus. But surely it is possible."

Marcus nodded, and then walked on silently for awhile longer. I lost myself in memories of the day that I visited Charlie to ask his permission to court Bella. It seemed like such a long time ago, yet at the same time, it could have been only yesterday.

"I'm in love with Lily," Marcus finally said, not bothering with any sort of preamble.

"I know," I replied.

"You know?"

"Forgive me, Marcus, but I'm rather sure that you are the only one who didn't," I said with a smile. "Don't be too hard on yourself about it, though. It's easy to miss when all of your thoughts are lost on the object of your affections. Believe me, I know."

"You don't have a problem with it, then?" he asked. It was probably the first time in all of my existence that I'd seen Marcus looking so unsure of anything.

I stopped walking and reached a hand up to pat him on the shoulder. "You make each other happy, Marcus. I've been watching it happen for years. You needn't worry; I believe she loves you as much as you do her." I nearly laughed out loud as the smile lit up his face. "I'd never seen you smile, Marcus, not in all the years that I knew you, until you held Lily. Every time I've seen you since, you've been smiling."

I paused, letting my words sink in for a minute. "You see, my old friend, Bella has always said that Lily's gift was inherited from me. She's a healer, just as I am a doctor. I, however, disagree with Bella on this point. Yes, Lily has the power to heal physical injuries as I do. But her true gift is the same one that I see in her mother; she has healed your soul, just as Bella did mine."

"She really has, Carlisle."

"You are a good man, Marcus," I said, echoing the words that Charlie had spoken to me years ago when I told him of my feelings for his daughter. "And I know that you will treat her well. She's a grown woman now, but she's still my little girl. Please, take care of her."

Marcus looked directly into my eyes, his expression one of complete sincerity. "You have my word, Carlisle. She is the most precious thing in my life."

I hugged him then, silently welcoming him into my family. I knew that the day would eventually come that it would be made official, because it was quite clear to me, from Marcus's words, that Lily meant every bit as much to him as my Bella did to me.

As we walked back to the house together, I made a mental note to myself to go visit Charlie. I was going to need his advice on how to handle letting my daughter go.

A/N: Thanks to JaspersIzzy for giving it a pre-read! I'd love to hear what you thought of this one!


	53. Outtake 5: Always in Your Arms

**A/N: It's been over 50 chapters. I am not, nor have I ever been SM. I think you know this by now.**

**This last outtake is my gift to Kendall. Longer A/N at the bottom.**

**Outtake #5: Always in Your Arms**

**Bella's POV**

Hand in hand, we walked away from the field that Kate and Alice had spent the entire week filling with flowers and twinkling lights, the field where Oliver promised Tanya that he would love her for all of eternity and she promised him that he had all of her – mind, body, and heart – forever.

It had taken them a long time, many years more than it had taken Carlisle and me, even, to get to the point that they were ready to take this step, but I had to say, as Oliver's mother, I had been glad for every extra day that I got with my son at home.

I cried at the wedding, tears of both sadness and joy. Joy for my son, and for his new wife. I hadn't always liked her, but Oliver had changed her, mellowed her, made her more kind than I remembered, even. She, in turn, had made him more social, though he was still more like Charlie than anyone I'd ever met. And when I saw the way that she looked at him, the same way that I looked at Carlisle, I knew that they were where they belonged. But still, it was hard to understand that both of my children had grown up and left home. It didn't seem right that I should have adult children when a quick look in a mirror showed me a woman in her twenties.

And while, on some days, I felt like I had lived nearly a century in this world, tonight, as my husband opened the door to the small cottage we kept near the edge of the Denali's property and looked into my eyes, I was every bit the twenty-four year old that I appeared.

"God, you look beautiful tonight," Carlisle whispered against my skin as he slipped the strap of my jade dress over the edge of my shoulder, kicking the door shut behind us with his foot.

I tilted my head to the side, giving his lips more access. The simple feel of his hot breath on my neck was enough to make me wet and ready to beg for his touch. In all our years together, I had learned one thing for sure: Rose was right. The passion that we felt, as vampires, never cooled. I wanted him just as badly tonight, two months and thirty-three years after our wedding night, as I did the very first time.

As much as I wanted his hands, lips, tongue... every part of him, really, on me, though, I wanted even more to show him my gratitude for everything he'd done for me, this week and as long as I'd known him. So I turned in his arms, smiling as his face came into view, and looked deep into his golden eyes.

"And you, Carlisle Cullen, were the most handsome man here tonight." I looked at him in his tuxedo, his pale skin set off so nicely against the black jacket, and brought my hand up to cup his cheek. "I will never forget how lucky I am to be your wife."

Carlisle, feeling playful, wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to him, bringing his mouth down to meet my collarbone, nibbling it. "You say that as if I would let you forget," he teased as he lifted me off the floor.

I giggled as he carried me across the living room and into our bedroom, loving the youth of spirit. "Put me down," I begged as neared our bed. I wasn't ready to get into it just yet.

"Here?" he asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Trust me," I said, smirking wickedly as he set me down gently.

"Always."

Standing before him, one strap of my dress already hanging precariously against my arm, I turned, exposing my back to him. "Unzip me?" I requested, looking at him over my shoulder.

"Gladly," he replied, bringing his hands up to the area over my shoulder blades where the zipper began, and then easing it down slowly. The dress, made of silk and delicate lace, fell down into a pool around my feet, and I was left standing before my husband in nothing more than a pair of black lace panties. I heard his quick intake of breath. "Beautiful," he murmured softly.

I turned back to him slowly, never taking my eyes off of his. His smile turned lustful when I began loosening his tie. He reached up to work on his buttons, but I pushed his hand away.

"Let me," I whispered.

He nodded, and I went on with my work, undressing him slowly, one button at a time, one sleeve then the other, a zipper, socks... Soon, everything was on the floor and Carlisle stood in front of me in all his naked glory.

Leaning in, I began kissing his chest, making my way up to his neck, where I licked a long trail up the curve to his ear. "I want to make you feel good," I breathed as I pressed my palms against his chest, urging him back against the wall.

When he had the support of the wall behind him, I pulled my hands and lips away from his body. He moaned softly with disappointment, but I shook a finger at him. "Good things come to those who wait, Carlisle," I reminded, taking the edge of the dainty lace of my panties between my thumb and forefinger and sliding them down my legs. I turned as I removed my feet from them, just enough to let him see the curve of my ass, and looked up at him, winking.

Understanding my game, he smirked and leaned back against the wall casually, bringing his hands up to rest behind his head as if he were unaffected.

He wouldn't be unaffected for long.

Facing him once again, I placed my palms on his chest and pressed my body against him, making sure he felt every curve and sinew as I dropped slowly to my knees. I looked up at him from my knees, batting my lashes a few times coyly and offering an innocent smile that distracted him just enough that he gasped in surprise as my hand closed around his cock.

"I've been wanting to taste you since morning, Carlisle," I murmured as I slowly stroked his length. "My panties were wet the whole time we danced. And now I'm going to do what I've been wanting to do for hours."

Keeping up the rhythmic stroking of his length, I let my tongue flit across the tip of his cock, smiling as he hissed. I circled the head, letting my tongue go over and under the rim with no predictability. I nearly laughed when Carlisle's casual stance disappeared and his hands pressed firmly against the wall.

"Mmmm..." I moaned softly as I left my hand drop from him, using my mouth to cover his length instead. I spread my knees apart further on the hard wooden floor. My hand, finding itself with nothing to do, made it's way between my legs, tracing the soft folds and the burning hot line between them.

My breaths came shallower as I increased my efforts on his cock, bobbing my head and taking the full length into my mouth some times, others just teasing the lip or licking down the shaft. All the while moving my hand in circles, faster and faster, over my clit.

"Oh my God, Bella..." he panted, his hands grasping at the wall behind him. "I can't see you... I want to see you."

I paused for a moment, then got up off the ground. "Move," I urged, directing him to the bed. "Lay down."

He did as I asked, keeping one knee up and the other bent against the mattress. I took my place beside him, facing the opposite direction. I wasted no time returning his cock to my mouth, not bothering with any preamble, but instead filling my mouth with him in one motion. He groaned in a low rasp that didn't match his usual honey tone. Only I ever heard him sound that way, and it made me want him more than ever. I spread my legs wide, giving him the best view I could, and then reached down with my hand, finding my slit and tracing it with my fingertip.

My back arched with my own touch and I moaned long and low around his cock, feeling the vibrations it created as they traveled over his flesh.

"Dear God," he groaned, reaching out with one hand to tangle his fingers in my hair, guiding me, but leaving me in charge of my pleasuring of him. With his other hand, though, he searched for me, finding his goal quickly.

I cried out as his fingers slipped into me, taking me by surprise. My body, without even a thought, arched toward him, bringing us closer together. I sucked him harder as he pumped his fingers in and out of me, matching the rhythm that I set with both my mouth and with my fingers, which I was no longer teasing myself with, but instead rapidly rubbing my clit.

"Please, Carlisle," I whimpered, taking a second away from sucking him to tease the head once again. "I love the way you...touch me."

"And I love the way you touch yourself," he murmured. "Do you have any idea how much it... Oh god," his statement was interrupted by me filling my mouth with him once again.

I was already close, and I could tell he was too – he was lifting his hips now, meeting my dives down his length with thrusts toward me. "I need you," he pleaded.

"When I'm done here," I replied, my voice rising in pitch with each word.

He reached for me, pulling me even closer to him, giving his fingers even more power as he added a third inside of me. With his other hand, he crossed my body and toyed with my nipples.

"Oh... Oh my... Carlisle!" I cried out as I came on his fingers, my whole body reaching for him, pressing against him every way I could. I shuddered and convulsed with pleasure, and he held me, keeping my body next to his the whole time.

When I stopped moving, he reached down and grabbed my waist, pulling me up on top of him. "Let me be inside of you," he begged. "I need you, Bella. Now."

"Please," I begged, needing to feel us together just as much as he did.

I was already straddling his body, so it took only one easy motion to line us up, and one more after that to get him inside of me. We moaned together as I slide down his length slowly, not stopping until there was nowhere else to go.

"God... I love you, Bella," he whispered as he brought his lips to meet mine.

As his tongue found its way into my mouth, his hips began to move underneath me, and then it was us, just as it had always been, just as it would ever be.

Home.

**A/N: I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed this story as much as I have enjoyed (with an exception here and there, lol) writing it. Thank you to everyone who was there for me, who supported and encouraged, who begged for more in reviews and PM's and tweets, and who made me feel kinda like a rockstar of words. I am forever grateful for all of you. **

**BamaBabe, this never would have happened without you. Thank you, one last time, from the bottom of my heart. **

**That's it folks. Goodbye.**

**-T**


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